darle
“darle” means “to give (to) him/her/it” in Spanish. It has 4 different meanings depending on context:
to give (to) him/her/it
Also: to give (to) you
📝 In Action
Voy a darle el regalo a mi madre.
A2I'm going to give the gift to my mother.
El doctor necesita darle la medicina al paciente.
A2The doctor needs to give the medicine to the patient.
Puedes darle las llaves al conserje cuando te vayas.
B1You can give the keys to the concierge when you leave.
to hit
Also: to strike, to kick/punch
📝 In Action
Ten cuidado, vas a darle a la lámpara con la cabeza.
B1Be careful, you're going to hit the lamp with your head.
El niño le dio una patada a la pelota con todas sus fuerzas.
B1The boy kicked the ball with all his might.
La rama le dio en el brazo cuando caminaba por el bosque.
B2The branch hit him on the arm when he was walking through the forest.
to go for it / to do it
Also: to get to it / to hurry up, Come on!
📝 In Action
Si de verdad quieres hacerlo, ¡dale!
B1If you really want to do it, go for it!
Ya es tarde, tenemos que darle si queremos terminar hoy.
B2It's already late, we have to get to it if we want to finish today.
¿Vienes con nosotros? ¡Dale, anímate!
B1Are you coming with us? Come on, cheer up!
to get a sudden urge/feeling
Also: to be overcome by, to not care / to be all the same
📝 In Action
Ayer por la noche le dio por llamar a todos sus amigos de la infancia.
B2Last night he got the urge to call all his childhood friends.
Cuando vio el vídeo, le dio un ataque de risa.
B2When she saw the video, she burst into a fit of laughter.
Le da igual si vamos al cine o al teatro.
B1He/She doesn't care if we go to the movies or the theater. (It's all the same to him/her.)
🔄 Conjugations
indicative
present
imperfect
preterite
subjunctive
present
imperfect
Translate to Spanish
✏️ Quick Practice
Quick Quiz: darle
Question 1 of 2
Your friend is nervous about starting a new project. You want to encourage them and say "Go for it!". What's the best thing to say?
📚 More Resources
👥 Word Family▼
🎵 Rhymes▼
📚 Etymology▼
Comes from joining two Latin words. The first is 'dare,' which meant 'to give.' The second is 'illi,' which meant 'to him' or 'to her.' Over time in Spanish, they combined to form 'darle.'
First recorded: Evolved from Latin, present in Old Spanish.
Cognates (Related words)
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why does 'darle' mean so many different things?
Think of the core idea of 'giving'. You can 'give' a book, but you can also 'give' a hit, 'give' your energy to a project ('go for it!'), or a feeling can 'give' itself to you (like an urge). Spanish uses this one powerful verb for many situations where English would use different words.
What's the difference between 'darle' and 'dárselo'?
'Darle' means giving something TO him/her. 'Dárselo' adds another word, 'lo' (it), and means giving IT to him/her. For example, 'Voy a darle el libro' (I will give the book to him) becomes 'Voy a dárselo' (I will give IT to him).
Can I say 'Le dar' instead of 'darle'?
No, when the verb is in its basic form (like 'dar', 'comer', 'vivir'), the little words like 'le', 'me', 'te' must be attached to the end. You can say 'Le voy a dar' (I'm going to give him) OR 'Voy a darle', but you can't say '*Le dar*'.