How to Say "steal" in Spanish
The Spanish word for “steal” is “quitar” — B1 level. This is a very common word in everyday Spanish.
English → SpanishB1
verbB1neutral/formal
to take illegally (less common than 'robar')
Examples
El gobierno le quitó la tierra al campesino.
The government took the land away from the farmer.
Le quitaron el teléfono en el metro.
They stole his phone on the subway.
Esta enfermedad le ha quitado la alegría de vivir.
This illness has deprived him of the joy of living.
Using the 'Le'
When 'quitar' means 'to take something from someone,' you often need the indirect object pronoun ('le' or 'les') to indicate the person being deprived, as in: 'Le quitaron el dinero' (They took the money from him).
Related Translations
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