Inklingo

molestes

mo-LES-tes/moˈlestes/

molestes means you bother in Spanish (Subjunctive use, e.g., 'I want you to bother').

you bother, don't bother

Also: you annoy, you disturb
A small child is repeatedly pulling the brightly colored dress of a taller woman, who looks frustrated and slightly exasperated by the continuous disturbance.
infinitivemolestar
gerundmolestando
past Participlemolestado

📝 In Action

Espero que no te **molestes** por el ruido.

B1

I hope you don't get bothered by the noise.

Te ruego que no **molestes** a mi hermana mientras estudia.

B1

I beg you not to bother my sister while she studies.

¡No me **molestes** ahora, estoy ocupado!

A2

Don't bother me now, I'm busy!

Word Connections

Synonyms

  • fastidies (you annoy)
  • perturbes (you disturb)

Antonyms

  • ayudes (you help)
  • calmes (you calm)

Common Collocations

  • que no me molestesthat you don't bother me
  • si te molestasif you get annoyed

🔄 Conjugations

indicative

present

él/ella/ustedmolesta
yomolesto
molestas
ellos/ellas/ustedesmolestan
nosotrosmolestamos
vosotrosmolestáis

imperfect

él/ella/ustedmolestaba
yomolestaba
molestabas
ellos/ellas/ustedesmolestaban
nosotrosmolestábamos
vosotrosmolestabais

preterite

él/ella/ustedmolestó
yomolesté
molestaste
ellos/ellas/ustedesmolestaron
nosotrosmolestamos
vosotrosmolestasteis

subjunctive

present

él/ella/ustedmoleste
yomoleste
molestes
ellos/ellas/ustedesmolesten
nosotrosmolestemos
vosotrosmolestéis

imperfect

él/ella/ustedmolestara/molestase
yomolestara/molestase
molestaras/molestases
ellos/ellas/ustedesmolestaran/molestasen
nosotrosmolestáramos/molestásemos
vosotrosmolestarais/molestaseis

Translate to Spanish

Words that translate to "molestes" in Spanish:

don't botheryou annoyyou botheryou disturb

✏️ Quick Practice

Quick Quiz: molestes

Question 1 of 2

Which sentence correctly uses 'molestes' as a negative command?

📚 More Resources

👥 Word Family
🎵 Rhymes
restesprestes
📚 Etymology

Comes from the Latin verb *molestare*, meaning 'to trouble' or 'to annoy'. It has maintained its core meaning through centuries of use in Spanish.

First recorded: 13th century

Cognates (Related words)

Portuguese: molestesItalian: molesti

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is 'molestar' a stem-changing verb?

No, *molestar* is a regular -ar verb. Its stem (molest-) never changes when you conjugate it, making it easy to learn!

Why does 'molestes' sound similar to the plural form 'molestáis'?

They are different! 'Molestes' is the 'tú' form for the Subjunctive or negative command. 'Molestáis' is the 'vosotros' form (you all, informal) for the regular present tense (Indicative).