¡cuidado!
“¡cuidado!” — watch out in Spanish. Interjection, level A1, topic — phrases that save you. Shouted when danger is near. Same root as cuidar, to look after. In a live sentence: “¡Cuidado, el suelo está mojado!” — Watch out, the floor is wet! You can hear how it sounds right here. One of 16 words in the set “phrases that save you” in the Spanish course.
In short
| Written in Spanish | ¡cuidado! |
| Translation | watch out |
| Other translations | look out |
| Part of speech | interjection |
| Level | A1 |
- ¡cuidado!watch out
Why it looks that way
Shouted when danger is near. Same root as cuidar, to look after
A word with a story stays in memory longer than one learned as a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.
In a live sentence
A single word almost never appears alone in conversation. A sentence shows where it fits and what stands next to it.
- ¡Cuidado, el suelo está mojado!Watch out, the floor is wet!
Nearby words: phrases that save you
“I don't understand”, “say that again”, “slower, please”, “help”. They are learned first for a reason: they bring back a conversation that has already gone wrong.
- no entiendoI don't understandThe no goes before the verb, not after: no entiendo, never entiendo no
- más despacio, por favorslower, pleaseDespacio is 'slowly'; más despacio is 'slower'. Don't confuse it with despacho — that's an office
- ¿hablas inglés?do you speak English?Languages take no preposition and no article: hablo inglés, not hablo en inglés. The language name is lowercase too
- ¡ayuda, por favor!help!A cry for help is the single word ¡ayuda!. The calmer, politer version: ¿me puede ayudar?
- estoy perdidoI'm lostBuilt on estar: a state you're in right now, not a trait. A woman says estoy perdida
- espere un momentowait a momentThe polite you-form. To a friend it's espera un momento
- no puedo abrirI can't openYou can add what exactly: no puedo abrir la puerta
- necesito un médicoI need a doctorThe short version for an emergency. Even shorter: ¡un médico!
- peligrosounsafeFrom el peligro, danger. Signs just print PELIGRO
- llame a la policíacall the policePeople and services take a personal a: llame a la policía, never llame la policía
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “phrases that save you”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “watch out” in Spanish?
Shouted when danger is near. Same root as cuidar, to look after
- How do you say “I can't open” in Spanish?
You can add what exactly: no puedo abrir la puerta
- How do you say “do you speak English?” in Spanish?
Languages take no preposition and no article: hablo inglés, not hablo en inglés. The language name is lowercase too
- How do you say “call the police” in Spanish?
People and services take a personal a: llame a la policía, never llame la policía
- How do you say “wait a moment” in Spanish?
The polite you-form. To a friend it's espera un momento
How not to forget this word
Reading a word and remembering it are different jobs. A day later, little survives of a single reading — and that is not bad memory, that is how memory works.
- This has been tested on foreign words too. The difference shows up most when you test yourself a few days later rather than straight away.checked many timesKim & Webb, 2022, Language Learning 72(2) · 48 experiments, 3,411 participants, 98 comparisons.
- Recalling beats re-reading. Covering the translation and trying to remember it does more than reading it ten more times.checked many timesAdesope, Trevisan & Sundararajan, 2017, Review of Educational Research 87(3) · 188 experiments, 272 comparisons. g = 0.61; against plain re-reading 0.51, against passive review 0.93.
- An answer you worked out yourself sticks better than one handed to you.checked many timesBertsch et al., 2007, Memory & Cognition 35(2) · 86 studies, 445 comparisons, d = 0.40.
Frequently asked
How do you say “watch out” in Spanish?
«¡cuidado!» In a live sentence: “¡Cuidado, el suelo está mojado!” — Watch out, the floor is wet! You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Interjection, level A1, from the set “phrases that save you”.
Why does this word look the way it does?
Shouted when danger is near. Same root as cuidar, to look after. A word with a story stays in memory longer than a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.
Can I hear how it sounds?
Yes, right on this page: click the word and it will play. The sound works on any phone, and nothing needs to be installed.