Estar regalado | Quedar regalado

To be gifted doesn’t carry the same meaning and English and Spanish. If you want the meaning of this expression, you’d say ‘está tocado/a por la varita’, but still there’s a confusing expression you might hear people use with two distinct meanings:

1#

Estar regalado can mean something is unreasonably cheap (a bargain):

-¡Mirá el precio de esa tele! Re barata.
-Sí, la verdad que está regalada.

The opposite is ‘un robo’ or ‘un choreo’ (a rip-off):

-¡Mirá el precio de esa tele! Muy cara, ¿no?
-Sí, la verdad que es un robo/un choreo.

2#

The second meaning comes from the idea of something or someone being exposed to theft or robbery:

-No camines por ahí de noche porque estás regalado.

-No saques el teléfono en la calle porque quedás regalado. Te lo sacan al toque.

In football conversations a person may say:

-Mirá qué mal salieron los defensores. El arquero quedó regalado…

Hope you liked learning this today,

Until next time,

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