dele
“dele” means “give him/her/it” in Spanish. It has 2 different meanings depending on context:
give him/her/it
Also: give you
📝 In Action
Cuando vea al cartero, dele la carta.
A2When you see the mailman, give him the letter.
Si el perro tiene hambre, dele un poco de comida.
A2If the dog is hungry, give it some food.
Go ahead!
Also: Do it!, Keep going!
📝 In Action
—¿Puedo pasar? —¡Sí, dele!
B1—Can I come in? —Yes, go ahead!
¡Dele, no se rinda!
B1Keep going, don't give up!
Subjunctive
Imperfect Subjunctive
Present Subjunctive
Indicative
Preterite
Imperfect
Present
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✏️ Quick Practice
Quick Quiz: dele
Question 1 of 2
If you want to tell a friend (informally) to give someone a book, would you use 'dele'?
📚 More Resources
👥 Word Family▼
📚 Etymology▼
Formed by the combination of the Spanish verb 'dar' (from Latin 'dare') and the dative pronoun 'le' (from Latin 'illi').
First recorded: 13th century (as part of the verb system)
Cognates (Related words)
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why doesn't 'dele' have an accent mark if 'dé' does?
Spanish spelling rules state that if a word ends in a vowel and the stress is on the second-to-last syllable (like DE-le), it doesn't need an accent. The accent on 'dé' is only there to distinguish it from the word 'de' (of).
Who does the 'le' in 'dele' refer to?
It can mean 'to him', 'to her', 'to it', or even 'to you' (if you are being very formal).