Cómo celebramos los cumpleaños en España

What does “le tiran de las orejas” mean in Spanish?

In the clip, the narrator says that on María’s birthday “le tiran de las orejas” — people pull her ears. It sounds rough, but it is a warm Spanish custom. They give one gentle tug for each year, so María, who turns ten, gets ten pulls. The phrase comes with a wish for the birthday person to have a long life — the tugging is a sign of good will, not a real punishment.

Spoken line: “le tiran de las orejas, una tradición que muestra el deseo de que la persona felicitada tenga una larga vida.” — “They pull her ears, a tradition that shows the wish for the birthday person to have a long life.” The verb here is “tirar de” (to pull/tug at something), not “tirar” alone (to throw). Spaniards often use it for this birthday game. Plain examples: - “Es tu cumpleaños, ¡te vamos a tirar de las orejas!” = “It’s your birthday — we’re going to pull your ears!” - “Le tiraron de las orejas diez veces, una por cada año.” = “They pulled his ears ten times, one for each year.” - “En España es costumbre tirar de las orejas al que cumple años.” = “In Spain it’s a custom to tug the ears of the birthday person.” Usage note: you usually hear it with “de” before the body part — “tirar DE las orejas.” It is playful and friendly, not a real punishment.