Petarlo
To smash it, be a huge hit — while 'petado' means packed full or broken.
Related lesson: The Five Verbs Natives Use Constantly.
Hear it in context
Su último vídeo lo está petando en YouTube.
Her latest video is blowing up on YouTube.
El concierto de anoche lo petó, no quedaba ni una entrada.
Last night's concert smashed it — there wasn't a single ticket left.
No vayas ahora al centro, está petado de gente.
Don't go into town now, it's rammed with people.
Se me ha petado el ordenador otra vez.
My computer has crashed on me again.
What It Actually Means
Petar is colloquial for “to burst” or “to bang,” and Spanish youth slang has spun a whole family out of it. The star is petarlo — to smash it, to be a massive success — with a fixed, meaningless lo, exactly like the “it” in English “killing it.”
Common Constructions
- Petarlo — to be a huge hit: “Este grupo lo va a petar.”
- Estar petado — packed, rammed: “El bar estaba petado.”
- Petarse — to break down or crash: “Se ha petado la aplicación.”
- Petar de — to be bursting with: “La sala petaba de gente.”
The Rule That Matters
The lo in petarlo never changes or agrees with anything: “la canción lo petó”, not “la petó”. Treat petarlo as a single unit meaning “smash it” and conjugate only the verb: lo peto, lo petas, lo petamos.
Common Pitfall
Register is young and very casual — natural among friends and all over social media, jarring in a work presentation, where tener mucho éxito or arrasar fit better. Also keep the senses straight: your favorite band lo peta (triumphs), the venue está petado (packed), and your phone se peta (dies). Same root, three different fortunes.