Inklingo

How to Say "be still" in Spanish

The Spanish word forbe stillis quédateA1 level. This is a very common word in everyday Spanish.

English → SpanishA1
VerbA1informal
Telling someone to stop moving.
A child standing happily inside a warm, brightly lit doorway while a hand gently prevents them from stepping outside into the dark night, illustrating the command to stay.

Examples

Por favor, quédate aquí conmigo.

Please, stay here with me.

Quédate a cenar, he preparado paella.

Stay for dinner, I've made paella.

¡Quédate quieto un momento!

Stay still for a moment!

A Command + 'You'

Think of 'quédate' as two parts: 'queda' (the command 'stay') and 'te' ('you'). When you tell someone to do something in Spanish, these little words like 'te' get attached right to the end of the verb.

Telling Who to Stay

'Quédate' is the friendly, informal way to tell one person ('tú') to stay. If you're talking to someone more formally ('usted'), you'd say 'quédese'.

Forgetting the 'te'

Mistake:Queda aquí.

Correction: Quédate aquí. When telling *someone* to stay, you need to add the 'te' to show who you're talking to. 'Queda' by itself can mean 'it remains' or is part of a different expression, so 'quédate' is much clearer.

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