Inklingo

How to Say "to encircle" in Spanish

The Spanish word forto encircleis rodearA2 level. This is a very common word in everyday Spanish.

English → SpanishA2

rodear

verbA2
to form a circle around something
A small red bird sitting in the center of a circle of tall yellow sunflowers.

Examples

Las montañas rodean el pequeño valle.

The mountains surround the small valley.

Los niños rodearon a la maestra para escuchar el cuento.

The children surrounded the teacher to hear the story.

Una muralla antigua rodeaba la ciudad.

An ancient wall used to encircle the city.

Using the correct word for 'By'

In English, we say 'surrounded BY something.' In Spanish, we usually use the word 'de' instead of 'por.' For example: 'Rodeado de flores' (Surrounded by flowers).

The 'Personal A'

If you are surrounding a specific person, remember to put the little word 'a' before them: 'Rodearon a la actriz' (They surrounded the actress).

Choosing 'por' over 'de'

Mistake:Estoy rodeado por amigos.

Correction: Estoy rodeado de amigos. (While 'por' is sometimes used, 'de' is much more natural for describing a state of being surrounded).

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