Ya alivió.

Question

Several years ago, while in Wal-mart,I heard a woman say "Ya alivió" I saw that she had just had a baby and made the connection between the two. Is this idiom specific to Mexico, or is it commonly understood anywhere in the Spanish speaking world? It is also one of those funky, put it in a third-person, impersonal kind of way. I can't remember if there is a specific term for the verbs that work this way in Spanish. It is the same in structure to "se me olvidó". Is there anything that someone can add to my understanding of "Ya alivió"?

Another good question rheit =] - DJ_Huero, Sep 6, 2012

Answer 1

What an interesting posting! I had never heard that expression to mean having given birth. Ya alivió is not even a complete verb form, since aliviar is usually expressed as a reflexive (aliviarse) meaning to lessen a pain or get better.

I have heard some Central Americans say "Se puso mala" when referring to a pregnant woman who just started labor. It literally means "She got sick." So it does not come to me as a surprise than after "Ponerse mala" and having her baby then they would say "Ya se alivió". She's been healed from labor pains.

I hope this makes any sense.

It makes sense. Plus, in my area, there are a number of Spanish speakers from Mexico that have no very little formal Spanish training, so I can see that the speaker left out the "se". - rheit, Sep 6, 2012

Sí, en México, cuesta el conocimiento. =] - DJ_Huero, Sep 6, 2012

Answer 2

"Ya alivió"

I agree that this is jibberish and it is not common in Mexico, at least among educated people.

A common idiomatic phrase there is "dar luz" and the standard "tener un bebé."

Amigo, se dice "dar a luz". But you're right on the money. - francobollo, Sep 6, 2012

It can be used both ways, but in Mexico the most common way is "dar Luz" without "a" - 005faa61, Sep 6, 2012