detenerte
“detenerte” means “to stop (yourself)” in Spanish. It has 2 different meanings depending on context:
to stop (yourself)
Also: to pull over, to pause
📝 In Action
Tienes que detenerte antes de cruzar la calle.
A1You have to stop (yourself) before crossing the street.
No puedes detenerte ahora, ¡estás casi terminando!
A2You can't stop now, you're almost finished!
to linger, to dwell on
📝 In Action
No vale la pena detenerte en esos pequeños errores.
B1It's not worth lingering/dwelling on those small mistakes.
Al leer el contrato, debes detenerte en cada cláusula.
B2When reading the contract, you should pause at every clause.
🔄 Conjugations
subjunctive
imperfect
present
indicative
preterite
imperfect
present
Translate to Spanish
✏️ Quick Practice
Quick Quiz: detenerte
Question 1 of 2
Which of these means 'You need to stop yourself'?
📚 More Resources
👥 Word Family▼
📚 Etymology▼
From Latin 'detinere', which is made of 'de-' (back/away) and 'tenere' (to hold). Literally, it means 'to hold someone or something back'.
First recorded: 13th century
Cognates (Related words)
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between 'parar' and 'detenerte'?
'Parar' is very simple and general, like 'to stop'. 'Detenerte' often sounds a bit more formal or deliberate, like 'to bring yourself to a halt'.
Why isn't it 'te detener'?
Actually, you can say 'te puedes detener' OR 'puedes detenerte'. Both are correct! But 'detenerte' is extremely common when the word is not the main verb of the sentence.