How to Say "to cringe" in Spanish
The Spanish word for “to cringe” is “encoger” — B1 level.
English → SpanishB1
verbB1
pulling back from something scary or gross
Examples
Cuando le pregunté, solo pudo encoger los hombros.
When I asked him, he could only shrug his shoulders.
Hacía tanto frío que tuve que encogerme en la cama.
It was so cold that I had to huddle up in bed.
No te encojas, mantén la espalda recta.
Don't slouch (pull yourself in), keep your back straight.
Using 'Encogerse' for People
When a person moves their own body into a small position (like for warmth or out of fear), we use the reflexive form 'encogerse'.
Wrong body part word
Mistake: “Hacer un shrug.”
Correction: Encoger los hombros. Spanish doesn't have a single word for 'shrug', so you must say 'shrink the shoulders'.
Related Translations
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