| Principal Translations |
| tell [sb] [sth]⇒ vtr | (inform, convey) | decir⇒ vtr |
| | | contar⇒ vtr |
| Note: Ante complemento directo de persona debe usarse la preposición «a». |
| | Tell me what he said. |
| | I finally told her what happened. |
| | Dime qué te dijo. |
| tell [sb]⇒ vtr | (inform) | decir⇒ vtr |
| | If someone is bullying you, tell the teacher. |
| | Si alguien te trata mal, dile al profesor. |
tell [sb],
tell [sb] that⇒ vtr | (with clause: announce) | decir⇒ vtr |
| | He told the whole school that he was leaving to become a rock musician. |
| | Él le dijo a toda la escuela que se marchaba para convertirse en un músico de rock. |
| tell [sb] [sth]⇒ vtr | (reveal, divulge) | decir⇒ vtr |
| | | contar⇒ vtr |
| | We told them our secret. |
| | Le dijimos nuestro secreto. |
| tell [sb] [sth] vtr | (recount: a story) | contar⇒ vtr |
| | Daddy, can you tell me a story? |
| | Papi, ¿me cuentas un cuento? |
| tell [sth] to [sb] vtr + prep | (recount [sth] to [sb]) | contar⇒ vtr |
| | He told the story to his daughter. |
| | Él le contó el cuento a su hija. |
| Additional Translations |
| tell n | (physical sign of deception) | señal nf |
| | | pista nf |
| | To win in poker, look for sighs, furrowed brows, and other tells from your opponents. |
| | Para ganar al póquer, trata de detectar suspiros, ceños fruncidos y otras señales de tus oponentes. |
| tell n | (archaeology: mound) | montículo nm |
| | Archaeologists have discovered a tell containing the remains of a Neolithic village. |
| | Los arqueólogos descubrieron un montículo que contiene los restos de una aldea del neolítico. |
| tell [sb] to do [sth] v expr | (command, order) | decir⇒ vtr |
| | | ordenar⇒ vtr |
| | He told her to clean her room. |
| | Le dijo que limpiara su cuarto. |
| tell⇒ vi | colloquial (notice) | notar⇒ vtr |
| | (coloquial) | darse cuenta loc verb |
| | Can you tell that I've put on ten pounds? |
| | ¿Notas que he aumentado diez libras? |
| tell vi | (confess) | confesar⇒ vi |
| | | revelar⇒ vtr |
| | I interrogated him, but he would not tell. |
| | Yo lo interrogué, pero él se negó a confesar. |
| tell of [sth] vi + prep | literary (recount) | contar la historia de loc verb |
| | | hablar de vi + prep |
| | The ancient legend tells of a princess who slayed a dragon. |
| | La antigua leyenda cuenta la historia de una princesa que mató a un dragón. |
| tell [sth]⇒ vtr | (distinguish) | distinguir⇒ vtr |
| | Can you tell the difference between these two colours? I can't tell that one from this one. |
| | ¿Puedes distinguir la diferencia entre estos dos colores? |
| tell [sth] vtr | (identify) | decir⇒ vtr |
| | | identificar⇒ vtr |
| | Can you tell who it is? |
| | ¿Puedes decirme quién es? |
| | ¿Puedes identificar quién es? |
| tell [sth] vtr | (realize) | distinguir⇒ vtr |
| | It's hard to tell who it is in this light. |
| | En esta luz es difícil distinguir quién es. |
| tell [sb]⇒ vtr | (assure) | asegurar⇒ vtr |
| | I have done all the work, I tell you. |
| | Yo he hecho todo el trabajo, te lo aseguro. |
| tell [sb] vtr | (explain) (a alguien) | decir⇒ vtr |
| | (a alguien) | explicar⇒ vtr |
| | Tell me exactly how you came to this conclusion. |
| | Dime exactamente cómo llegaste a esta conclusión. |
| | Explícame exactamente cómo llegaste a esta conclusión. |
| tell [sb] vtr | (report to) (a alguien) | contar⇒ vtr |
| | (a alguien) | decir⇒ vtr |
| | You've broken my toy car. I'm telling Mum! |
| | Has roto mi cochecito de juguete. ¡Se lo voy a contar a mamá! |
| | Has roto mi cochecito de juguete. ¡Se lo voy a decir a mamá! |
Locuciones verbales
tell | telling |
| tell [sth/sb] apart vtr phrasal sep | informal (distinguish between) | distinguir⇒, diferenciar⇒ vtr |
| | The twins are so alike that it's not easy to tell them apart. |
| | Los gemelos son tan parecidos que no es fácil distinguirlos (or: diferenciarlos). |
| tell [sb] off vtr phrasal sep | informal (reprimand) | regañar a vtr + prep |
| | (coloquial) | echar la bronca a loc verb + prep |
| | (AR, BO, UY) | retar a vtr + prep |
| | The teacher told the girls off for giggling in class. |
| | La profesora regañó a las chicas por reírse en clase. |
| tell on [sb] vtr phrasal insep | informal (inform against) | delatar⇒ vi |
| | (AR) | buchonear⇒ vi |
| | (ES) | chivarse⇒ v prnl |
| | If a little boy does something naughty, his sister will tell on him. |
| | Si el niño le hace alo malo, su hermana lo delatará. |
| tell on [sb] vtr phrasal insep | US, informal, figurative (have an effect on) | afectar⇒ vtr |
| | After a few glasses, that red wine really starts to tell on you. |
| | Después de un par de copas, te das cuenta de que este vino te empieza a afectar. |