How to Say "bothering" in Spanish
The Spanish word for “bothering” is “molestando” — A2 level. This is a very common word in everyday Spanish.
Examples
El perro está molestando a los vecinos con sus ladridos.
The dog is bothering the neighbors with its barking.
Estuve molestando a mi jefe hasta que me dio el día libre.
I kept bothering my boss until he gave me the day off.
Si tu rodilla te sigue molestando, deberías ir al médico.
If your knee keeps bothering you (causing discomfort), you should go to the doctor.
Showing Ongoing Action
"Molestando" is the '-ing' form (the gerund). You use it with a form of the verb estar (like estoy, estás, está) to say the annoyance is happening right now: Está molestando (He is bothering).
Using the Gerund Alone
You can sometimes use 'molestando' by itself to describe how someone is behaving: Vino a la fiesta, siempre molestando a todos (He came to the party, always annoying everyone).
The False Friend Trap
Mistake: “Using 'molestar' to mean 'to sexually abuse' (like the English word 'to molest').”
Correction: In Spanish, *molestar* means 'to annoy' or 'to bother.' If you mean the severe action implied by the English word, use phrases like *abusar sexualmente* or *agredir*.
Related Translations
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