Inklingo

How to Say "kill!" in Spanish

The Spanish word forkill!is mataA1 level. This is a very common word in everyday Spanish.

English → SpanishA1

mata

verbA1
command form (informal 'tú')
A cartoon gardener character wearing gloves and smiling, dramatically pulling a large, stylized weed completely out of the soil, illustrating the termination of life.

Examples

La policía busca a quien mata a los animales del vecindario.

The police are looking for the person who kills the neighborhood animals.

Ella siempre mata el tiempo con videojuegos mientras espera.

She always kills time with video games while she waits.

¡Mata el mosquito antes de que te pique!

Kill the mosquito before it bites you!

Talking about Others

This form, 'mata', is what you use in the present tense when the subject is 'él' (he), 'ella' (she), or 'usted' (you formal), describing an action they do right now or habitually.

Command Form

The exact same form, 'mata', is the command you give to a friend ('tú') in the positive: '¡Mata la araña!' (Kill the spider!).

Mixing up Subjects

Mistake:Using 'yo mata' instead of 'yo mato'.

Correction: Remember that the first-person singular ('yo' - I) always takes the '-o' ending in the present indicative for -ar verbs: 'Yo mato.' (I kill.)

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