atacar
/ah-tah-KAHR/
to attack
Atacar means 'to attack' physically or militarily.
atacar(verb)
to attack
?physically or militarily
,to assault
?sudden aggressive action
to charge
?in sports or battle
📝 In Action
El león intentó atacar a la cebra.
A2The lion tried to attack the zebra.
Las fuerzas enemigas atacaron al amanecer.
B1The enemy forces attacked at dawn.
💡 Grammar Points
Spelling Change in Preterite 'Yo'
To keep the hard 'k' sound of the 'c' before the vowel 'e', the 'c' changes to 'qu' only in the 'yo' form of the preterite (ataqué).
❌ Common Pitfalls
Incorrect Preterite Spelling
Mistake: "Yo atacé (with a 'z' sound)"
Correction: Yo ataqué. Remember that 'c' sounds like 's' or 'th' before 'e' or 'i', so you must use 'qu' to keep the hard 'k' sound.
⭐ Usage Tips
Directness
In Spanish, 'atacar' is often used very directly, similar to English 'attack' or 'assault,' and rarely requires extra prepositions unless specifying the method.
Atacar can also mean 'to criticize' verbally.
atacar(verb)
to criticize
?verbally or in writing
,to denounce
?publicly
to undermine
?reputation or credibility
📝 In Action
La oposición atacó duramente el nuevo presupuesto.
B2The opposition fiercely criticized the new budget.
En su discurso, el político atacó a sus rivales sin piedad.
B2In his speech, the politician attacked his rivals mercilessly.
💡 Grammar Points
Figurative Use
When used in this sense, 'atacar' means to direct strong negative words or arguments toward a person, idea, or policy.
⭐ Usage Tips
Stronger than 'Criticar'
'Atacar' implies a more aggressive, hostile, or sustained form of criticism than simply 'criticar' (to criticize).
When used metaphorically, atacar means 'to tackle' a difficult problem or task.
atacar(verb)
to tackle
?a problem or task
,to hit/strike
?referring to a disease or symptom
to dig into
?food (informal)
📝 In Action
El equipo decidió atacar el proyecto desde un nuevo ángulo.
B1The team decided to tackle the project from a new angle.
La gripe me atacó con fiebre alta.
B2The flu hit me with a high fever.
¡La cena se ve deliciosa! Vamos a atacarla.
B1Dinner looks delicious! Let's dig into it.
💡 Grammar Points
Impersonal Subject (Disease)
When talking about diseases, the disease itself is the subject doing the attacking: 'La enfermedad me atacó' (The illness attacked me).
⭐ Usage Tips
Active Approach
Use 'atacar' when you want to emphasize a decisive, energetic, and active approach to solving a difficulty or consuming something enthusiastically.
🔄 Conjugations
indicative
present
imperfect
preterite
subjunctive
present
imperfect
✏️ Quick Practice
💡 Quick Quiz: atacar
Question 1 of 1
Which sentence uses 'atacar' in the sense of 'to tackle a difficult task'?
📚 More Resources
Frequently Asked Questions
Does 'atacar' always mean something negative?
Not always! While the primary meaning is aggressive (physically or verbally), it can also be used positively or neutrally, especially when talking about 'attacking' a difficult problem or 'attacking' a delicious meal, meaning to tackle it with enthusiasm.
Why does the spelling change in the past tense ('ataqué')?
This is a simple sound rule. In Spanish, 'c' before 'e' or 'i' makes an 's' or 'th' sound (like 'cebolla'). Since 'atacar' needs to keep its hard 'k' sound in the past tense ('yo'), we change the 'c' to 'qu' before the 'e' ending: 'ataqué'.