How to Say "to extinguish" in Spanish
The Spanish word for “to extinguish” is “extinguir” — B1 level.
Examples
Los bomberos tardaron tres horas en extinguir el incendio.
It took the firefighters three hours to extinguish the fire.
Por favor, asegúrate de extinguir todas las velas.
Please, make sure to put out all the candles.
El fuerte viento ayudó a extinguir las llamas.
The strong wind helped to quench the flames.
The Silent 'U' Trick
Normally, the 'u' in 'gui' is silent. However, when the verb ending changes to an 'o' or 'a' (like in 'yo extingo'), we drop the 'u' entirely to keep that hard 'G' sound.
Formal vs. Informal
Use 'apagar' for household things like lamps or candles. Use 'extinguir' for professional or large-scale fire fighting.
Don't keep the 'U'
Mistake: “Yo extinguo las velas.”
Correction: Yo extingo las velas. We remove the 'u' before 'o' because it isn't needed to make the 'g' sound hard.
Related Translations
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