What does “Echar agua al mar” mean in English? Before explaining the meaning of this expression, it is important to have a good understanding of what an an idiomatic expression is. What even is an idiomatic expression in the first place? It is a phrase, that when directly translated into another language, makes little to no sense. Some idiomatic expressions you may already know, ” A blessing in disguise”, “Beat around the bush”, “Better late than never’. Every language has idiomatic expressions, and some may argue that these are the expressions that REALLY make the language unique. Just memorizing vocabulary will not help you to learn these, you need to learn all of the idiomatic expressions. Learning and familiarizing yourself with different idioms can allow you to better learn a language and its’ culture. “Echar agua al mar” The literal translation of this idiom is “To throw water into the sea”. This idiom is used to say that something is pointless, useless, or ineffective. The English equivalent is “Throw water into the sea”.   Examples of “Echar agua al mar” “Tratar de conver convencerla es como echar agua al mar. Ella nunca va a cambiar”. “Trying to convince her is pointless. She’s never going to change”. “Ayudarla es como echar agua al mar…Nunca acepta lo que le ofreces.” “Helping her is like throwing water into the sea (pointless)…She never accepts what you have to offer.” For more examples visit: For more Spanish Idioms check out our Spanish Language Blog Posts!