comerse

Comerse is a Spanish verb formed by adding the reflexive clitic se to comer. It preserves the basic sense of eat but acquires additional, idiomatic meanings through the reflexive form. In everyday usage, comerse often implies thorough or eager consumption, or a focus of the action on the subject.

Literal sense and emphasis. The most direct use describes eating something completely or with particular eagerness. Examples include me comí la cena entera (I ate the whole dinner) or se comió el pastel (he ate the cake in full). In such cases the pronoun reinforces completion or intensity of the eating act.

Figurative and idiomatic uses. Comerse can extend beyond food to refer to swallowing or consuming intangible things. Common expressions include comerse las palabras (to swallow one’s words) and comerse el orgullo (to swallow one’s pride). Another widespread idiom is comerse la cabeza (to overthink something, worry about it excessively). A regional, informal sense is comerse un marrón, meaning to take on an awkward or troublesome responsibility or problem.

Grammatical notes. Comerse is versatile in form, with reflexive pronouns me, te, se, nos, os, and can appear in tenses just like comer: me comí, te comiste, se comió, etc. The meaning shift comes from context and collocations rather than from a fixed set of rules.

Regional usage. The verb is common across Spanish-speaking countries, but certain figurative expressions (such as comerse un marrón or comerse la cabeza) may be more prevalent in specific dialects.