explicarle

ex-plee-KAR-leh/ekspliˈkaɾle/

“explicarle” means “to explain to him/her” in Spanish (giving information to a third person).

to explain to him/her, to explain to you

Also: to clarify to him/her

VerbA2regular ar

A friendly person pointing at a colorful map while another person watches and listens intently.

gerundexplicándole

past Participleexplicado

infinitiveexplicar

📝 In Action

Tengo que explicarle el plan a mi jefe.

I have to explain the plan to my boss.

Es difícil explicarle la verdad.

It is difficult to explain the truth to him.

Mañana voy a explicarle cómo funciona la máquina.

Tomorrow I am going to explain to her how the machine works.

Word Connections

Synonyms

aclararle (to clarify to him/her)
enseñarle (to show/teach him/her)

Antonyms

confundirle (to confuse him/her)
ocultarle (to hide from him/her)

Common Collocations

querer explicarle – to want to explain to him/her
intentar explicarle – to try to explain to him/her
poder explicarle – to be able to explain to him/her

🔄 Conjugations

subjunctive

imperfect

ellos/ellas/ustedesle explicaran

yole explicara

túle explicaras

vosotrosle explicarais

nosotrosle explicáramos

él/ella/ustedle explicara

present

ellos/ellas/ustedesle expliquen

yole explique

túle expliques

vosotrosle expliquéis

nosotrosle expliquemos

él/ella/ustedle explique

indicative

preterite

ellos/ellas/ustedesle explicaron

yole expliqué

túle explicaste

vosotrosle explicasteis

nosotrosle explicamos

él/ella/ustedle explicó

imperfect

ellos/ellas/ustedesle explicaban

yole explicaba

túle explicabas

vosotrosle explicabais

nosotrosle explicábamos

él/ella/ustedle explicaba

present

ellos/ellas/ustedesle explican

yole explico

túle explicas

vosotrosle explicáis

nosotrosle explicamos

él/ella/ustedle explica

View All Tenses & Moods →

✏️ Quick Practice

Quick Quiz: explicarle

Question 1 of 2

What does the 'le' in 'explicarle' represent?

📚 More Resources

👥 Word Family▼

explicar(to explain) — Verb

explicación(explanation) — Noun

explicativo(explanatory) — Adjective

🎵 Rhymes▼

darle hablarle

📚 Etymology▼

From the Spanish verb 'explicar' (from Latin 'explicare' meaning 'to unfold') combined with the pronoun 'le' (to him/her/you).

First recorded: 13th century (base verb)

Cognates (Related words)

English: explicateFrench: expliquer

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can 'explicarle' mean 'explain it'?

No. 'Explicarle' means explain to HIM or HER. If you want to say 'explain it,' you would use 'explicarlo'.

Why is the 'le' at the end?

In Spanish, pronouns like 'le' attach to the end of verbs that are in their dictionary form (infinitives), such as 'explicar'.