How to Say "to hamper" in Spanish
The Spanish word for “to hamper” is “dificultar” — B1 level.
Examples
La lluvia fuerte puede dificultar el tráfico esta tarde.
The heavy rain can make traffic difficult this afternoon.
La falta de internet dificultó mi trabajo durante todo el día.
The lack of internet hindered my work throughout the day.
Las nuevas leyes dificultan la apertura de pequeñas empresas.
The new laws make it difficult to open small businesses.
Using the word as a 'barrier'
This word describes the action of putting a barrier in front of something else. It is almost always used with an object—the thing that is being made difficult (like 'traffic', 'progress', or 'understanding').
A regular pattern
This verb follows the most common pattern for verbs ending in -ar. If you know how to conjugate 'hablar,' you can conjugate 'dificultar' perfectly.
Overusing 'Hacer difícil'
Mistake: “La lluvia hizo difícil el tráfico.”
Correction: La lluvia dificultó el tráfico.
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