fruncir el ceño
verbCEFR B1
What does “fruncir el ceño” mean in English?
to frown, to knit one's brows
to frown, to knit one's brows (opaque idiom: fruncir = wrinkle/furrow; el ceño = the brow; no single verb for 'frown')
Example sentences
El jefe frunció el ceño al escuchar los resultados trimestrales; todos en la sala supimos que la reunión iba a ser larga.
The boss frowned when he heard the quarterly results; everyone in the room knew the meeting was going to be long.
Siempre que lee algo con lo que no está de acuerdo, frunce el ceño y empieza a subrayar las partes que le parecen incorrectas.
Whenever he reads something he disagrees with, he frowns and starts underlining the parts he thinks are wrong.
La frunció el ceño con confusión al escuchar la pregunta, como si no hubiera entendido bien lo que se le pedía.
She frowned with confusion when she heard the question, as if she hadn't quite understood what was being asked of her.
How to use it
Fruncir el ceño means 'to frown' or 'to knit one's brows'. It is an opaque idiom: fruncir means 'to wrinkle/gather/furrow' and el ceño means 'the brow / the frown area of the forehead'. Neither word individually means frown. The construction is always fruncir el ceño (not *fruncir las cejas, which is sometimes also used but less standardly idiomatic). It describes the facial expression produced by concentration, displeasure, confusion, or disapproval. The noun el ceño fruncido (furrowed brow) is the adjectival form.
Common mistake
Fruncir alone (without el ceño) means 'to gather/pleat fabric' — not frown. The ceño is obligatory for the facial expression meaning. No direct English cognate for ceño — it must be memorised as a unit. Some learners use *poner mala cara (to make an unpleasant face), which is synonymous in informal speech but the idiomatic expression for frowning is fruncir el ceño.