Inklingo

How to Say "to thaw" in Spanish

The Spanish word forto thawis derretirA2 level. This is a very common word in everyday Spanish.

English → SpanishA2
verbA2
when ice or snow turns back into water
A yellow ice cream scoop on a wooden table slowly turning into a liquid puddle under a bright sun.

Examples

El sol derrite la nieve muy rápido.

The sun melts the snow very quickly.

Tienes que derretir la mantequilla antes de añadirla a la mezcla.

You have to melt the butter before adding it to the mix.

El helado se derritió porque hacía mucho calor.

The ice cream melted because it was very hot.

The 'E' to 'I' Change

In many present tense forms and the third-person past tense, the middle 'e' changes to an 'i'. For example, 'yo derrito' (I melt) instead of 'derreto'.

Using 'Se' for Automatic Melting

If something melts on its own (like ice in a glass), we add 'se' to make it 'derretirse'. Example: 'El hielo se derrite'.

Forgetting the 'Se'

Mistake:El hielo derrite.

Correction: El hielo se derrite. (Use 'se' because the ice is performing the action on itself; otherwise, people might wonder what the ice is melting!)

Related Translations

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