¡No te pases! — The Mexican Phrase that Calls Out Exaggeration

PICTURE this: your cousin dumps half a bottle of salsa habanera on your taco “as a joke.” Your mouth catches fire. You are near death. What do you say?

¡No te pases!

Welcome to one of Mexico’s most flexible, flavorful phrases. It’s short, punchy, and works for everything from “Don’t be rude” to “C’mon, that’s too much.” Let’s break it down with plenty of real-life examples (and the usual Insider Spanish grin).

What does “¡No te pases!” mean?

At its core: “Don’t go too far.” In everyday Mexican Spanish, it signals that someone has crossed a line—socially, emotionally, gustatorily, or with the dad jokes.

Depending on tone and context, it ranges from playful to serious:

• Playful protest: “Oh come on, don’t exaggerate.”
• Setting boundaries: “Hey, that’s over the line.”
• Calling out nonsense: “You’ve got to be kidding.”
• Price shock / abuse: “That’s way out of line.”

Grammar peek: It comes from pasarse (“to go too far, overdo it”).

No te pases = “Don’t overdo it.”

Formal: No se pase

Past: Ya te pasaste (“You went too far.”)

How tone changes everything

Friendly, rising intonation: ¡No te paaases! → teasing, light scolding.

Flat, firm: No te pases. → boundary.

Sharp, clipped: ¡NO te pases! → your chancla privileges are revoked.

Everyday situations (with translations)

1) Pranks & exaggerations

⚽ Te puse tantita salsa, casi no pica.

⚽ ¡No te pases! ¡Eso es lava!

🏈 I put just a little sauce; it barely burns.

🏈 Don’t overdo it! That’s lava!

2) Jokes that go too far

⚽ Y entonces le dijo el doctor…

⚽ ¡No te pases! Mi abue está aquí.

🏈 And then the doctor said…

🏈 Don’t cross the line! My granny’s here.

3) Prices / Overcharging

⚽ Son 300 por el agua en el concierto.

⚽ ¡No te pases! Si es de 600 ml.

🏈 It’s 300 pesos for water at the concert.

🏈 Come on, don’t be ridiculous! It’s a 600 ml bottle.

4) Trash talk / sports

⚽ Te gané 7–0. Fácil.

⚽ ¡No te pases! El árbitro te ayudó.

🏈 I beat you 7–0. Easy.

🏈 Give me a break! The ref helped you.

5) Personal boundaries

⚽ Pásame tu contraseña y yo te subo el video.

⚽ No te pases, eso es privado.

🏈 Give me your password and I’ll upload it for you.

🏈 That’s over the line; that’s private.

6) Drama level: soap opera

⚽ Me bloqueaste en todas las redes por llegar 5 minutos tarde.

⚽ ¡No te pases!

🏈 You blocked me on every platform for being 5 minutes late.

🏈 Don’t be so extreme!

Close cousins & spicy variants

Think of these as different salsas for the same taco.

Ya te pasaste — “Now you went too far.” (completed action)

⚽ ¿Me troleaste en vivo? ¡Ya te pasaste!

🏈 You trolled me live? You went too far!

Se pasó / Se están pasando — “He/they crossed the line.”

⚽ Cobrar eso por estacionar… se están pasando.

🏈 Charging that to park… they’re overdoing it.

No te pases de… — “Don’t be such a…” / “Don’t overdo the…”

…lanza (very Mexico City): “Don’t be so harsh/abusive.”

⚽ ¿Me vendiste el cable usado como nuevo? ¡No te pases de lanza!

🏈 You sold me a used cable as new? Don’t be shady!

…listo: “Don’t be a smart-aleck / don’t try to outsmart me.”

⚽ No te pases de listo; ya vi el truco.

🏈 Don’t get clever; I saw the trick.

…rosca (MX/Cono Sur): “Don’t go overboard / don’t exaggerate.”

⚽ Decir que Messi es malo… no te pases de rosca.

🏈 Saying Messi is bad… don’t be ridiculous.

Te estás pasando — “You’re crossing the line (right now).”

⚽ Bájale al volumen, te estás pasando.

🏈 Turn it down; you’re going too far.

Pasado de lanza (adjective): “Out of line / nasty.”

⚽ El comentario estuvo pasado de lanza.

🏈 That comment was out of line.

Pasarse de la raya (more general Spanish): “To overstep / cross a line.”

Useful outside Mexico too:

⚽ El jefe se pasó de la raya con ese correo.

🏈 The boss crossed the line with that email.

Register & politeness (a.k.a. “Will Grandma approve?”)

• Neutral/colloquial: ¡No te pases! → safe with friends, family, coworkers.
• Softer polite option: Oye, no te pases, porfa. → friendly boundary.
• Formal: No se pase, por favor. → with strangers/elders.

Mini “builder’s guide”: snap-together phrases

¡No te pases (de + noun)!

No te pases de drama / de listo / de lanza / de rosca.

(Ya) te pasaste (con + something).

⚽ Te pasaste con la sal.

🏈 You overdid the salt.

Se pasaron (con / de).

⚽ Se pasaron con el volumen.

🏈 They went overboard with the volume.

No se pasen (ustedes).

⚽ Chavos, no se pasen; hay niños.

🏈 Guys, don’t cross the line; there are kids around.

Quick mini-dialogues

Memes overboard

⚽ Te etiqueté en 47 memes a las 3 a. m.

⚽ ¡No te pases! Al menos dame contexto.

🏈 I tagged you in 47 memes at 3 a.m.

🏈 Don’t go overboard! At least give me context.

Crazy prices

⚽ Subieron el estacionamiento a 150 la hora.

⚽ Se pasaron.

🏈 They raised parking to 150 per hour.

🏈 That’s too much.

Lack of confidentiality

⚽ Le contaste mi secreto a todos.

⚽ Perdón…

⚽ Ya te pasaste.

🏈 You told everyone my secret.

🏈 Sorry…

🏈 You crossed the line.

When NOT to use it

When facing serious harm or harassment

Choose clear, firm language:

⚽ Eso es inaceptable / Eso es acoso. Detente ahora.

🏈 That is unacceptable/ That is sexual harassment. Stop now!

When a formal complaint is justified

⚽ Considero excesivo o injustificado lo que hizo.

🏈 I consider excessive or inexcusable what he did.

This sounds more professional than ¡No te pases!

Just go overboard with ¡No te pases!

¡No te pases! is your go-to Mexican phrase for calling out exaggeration, rudeness, or excess—ranging from playful eye-roll to firm boundary. Dress it up (formal), dress it down (slangy variants), but keep the tone right and abuelita will let you live to learn another idiom.