in someone's shoes
18
3.4
- idiom
:
ponerse en el lugar de alguien
- You can't be in my shoes, Joe.
- put ourselves in their shoes
- stand in their shoes
- in other people's shoes
Examples
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Put yourself in my shoes for a minute.
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One time, Atticus said you never really knew a man until you stood in his shoes and walked around in them.
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Well, put yourself in his shoes, John.
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If you were in her shoes, where would you go?
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Put yourself in my shoes.
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Put yourself in my shoes, Bill.
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It's good to walk a mile in someone else's shoes once in a while.
Blog text (25) -
Okay, here is what I would do right away if I were in Chris Anderson's shoes.
Blog text (5) -
Before you have walked in someone's shoes, do not be so quick to judge.
Blog text (17) -
Before you judge anyone, try to put yourself in someone's shoes and understand their struggles.
Synonyms
12
4.6
To imagine you are in someone else's situation and act or feel the same way
In the same situation as someone else
How Similar
18
3.4
- Informal
34
3.2
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase uses a simple spatial construction ('in' + someone's + 'shoes') but the meaning relies on a metaphorical mapping from footwear to a person's situation or role. This figurative sense is common cross-linguistically (e.g., 'put yourself in someone else's place'), so learners may be able to infer it, but the non-literal shift means it is not fully predictable from the parts for an uninstructed B1 learner.
Etymology
In someone's shoes comes from the simple image of putting on another person's shoes and walking where they walk. If you 'step into someone's shoes' you see their problems and feelings, so the phrase means 'to be in the same situation' or 'to understand how they feel'.