"Eyes widened in fear"

Question

¿Como se dice...

"My eyes widened in fear" ?

I'm writing a horror story for my Spanish class and this is one saying I'm not sure how to translate. Thanks in advance!

• Good question, not sure if there is an idiom out there for this or if you should just translate it literally - cheeseisyumm Oct 25, 2009

Answer 1

Why don't you say something like: "Tenía los ojos abiertos de par en par por el temor" (I had my eyes wide open because of fear) or "se me abrieron los ojos de par en par por el temor" (my eyes opened wide because of fear). These sentences would be grammatically correct and would certainly get your point across.

• Thank you! I don't need it to be literal, just to get the point across that the narrator had a sudden realisation and is frightened. - lmkousa Oct 25, 2009

Answer 2

You could also consider:

I was in fear with my eyes opened wide. = Fui en miedo con mis ojos abrio como platos.

Moe.

• I have heard this a few times to express the same idea in English "Tener los ojos como platos" - 003487d6 Oct 25, 2009
• Dandi, that expresses surprise, not horror - Heidita Oct 25, 2009

Answer 3

Why not use "to my horror I saw that… - me horroricé al ver que…"