Vocabulario del baño en español con ejemplos

What does “tirar de la cadena” mean in Spanish?

In this bathroom tour the speaker explains how to use the toilet: “Para echar agua en el váter se tira de la cadena.” Word for word it means “to pull the chain,” from the days when toilets had a hanging chain. In Spain it’s still the standard everyday way to say “flush.” So when you hear “se tira de la cadena,” picture pressing the button — same action, older words. Other regions may use different forms (e.g. “bajar el agua”).

In the clip: “Para echar agua en el váter se tira de la cadena” — “To put water in the toilet, you flush it.” A few ways you’ll meet it: - “¿Has tirado de la cadena?” — “Did you flush?” - “Tira de la cadena, por favor.” — “Please flush the toilet.” - “Tiré de la cadena y me fui.” — “I flushed and left.” Notes: “tirar de algo” means to pull something, so the phrase keeps “de” before “la cadena.” Even with modern push-button toilets, Spanish speakers still say “tirar de la cadena.” In this clip the speaker uses “se tira de la cadena” — a common, neutral way to give an instruction without naming who does it (think: “you flush” or “one flushes”). The word “váter” means toilet; “echar agua” here means to send water through it.