| 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 [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. |
Compound Forms:
|
| go and do [sth] v expr | colloquial (proceed to do) | ir y expr |
| | Could you go and get some bread from the shop, please? If you see a crime being committed, you should go and tell a police officer. |
| | ¿Podrías ir y comprar algo de pan en la tienda, por favor? |
| kiss and tell vi | informal (reveal [sth] private for money) | vender la vida privada loc verb |
| | | revelar la vida privada loc verb |
| kiss-and-tell adj | informal (revealing [sth] private for money) | de vender la vida privada loc adj |
| only time will tell expr | (will know in the future) | solo el tiempo lo dirá expr |
| | Whether or not the football player recovers from his injury—only time will tell. |
pray,
pray tell adv | archaic or ironic (tell me) | por favor loc interj |
| | "What, pray, do you mean by that?" |
| | ¿Pero por favor, a qué te refieres con eso? |
show and tell,
show-and-tell n | (school: class speaking exercise) | mostrar y contar, mostrar y compartir expr |
| Note: Actividad escolar que consiste en llevar un objeto al salón de clases para describirlo ante los demás estudiantes. |
| | Johnny, what did you bring for show-and-tell? |
| | Johnny, ¿qué objeto trajiste para mostrar y compartir? |
| tell a joke v expr | (recount a humorous story) | contar un chiste loc verb |
| tell a lie v expr | (not tell the truth) | decir mentiras loc verb |
| | I used to tell a lot of lies when I was a little kid. |
| | Cuando pequeña, decía mentiras a cada rato. |
| | | mentir⇒ vi |
| | (AR, coloquial) | macanear⇒ vi |
tell [sb] a secret,
tell a secret to [sb] v expr | (confide [sth] private to [sb]) | contar un secreto loc verb |
| | Once she told me her great secret, I wished I had never heard it. My neighbour likes to gossip - if you tell her a secret, the whole village knows by the end of the day! |
| tell a story v expr | (recite a narrative) | contar un cuento loc verb |
| | The children asked their grandfather to tell them a story. |
| | Los niños le pidieron al abuelo que les contara un cuento. |
| tell a story v expr | figurative (reflect events) | hacer una crónica loc verb |
| | | contar una historia loc verb |
| | Every picture tells a story. |
| | Toda imagen hace una crónica. |
| tell a whopper v expr | slang (lie) | mentir⇒ vi |
| tell about [sth] vi + prep | (give information about) | contar sobre vi + prep |
| | | hablar sobre, hablar de vi + prep |
| tell all v expr | (divulge everything) | decir todo de un tema loc verb |
| | | contarlo todo loc verb |
| tell-all n | (book, etc., telling scandalous details) | libro que lo dice todo nm + loc adj |
| | | película que lo dice todo nf + loc adj |
| tell-all n as adj | (relating to a tell-all) | que lo dice todo loc adj |
| | | revelador/a adj |
| tell how to do [sth] vtr | (describe the manner in which) | decir de qué manera loc verb |
| | If you'll tell me how to bake a pie, I'll bake you one tomorrow. |
| | Si me dices de qué manera se hace el pastel, te preparo uno para mañana. |
| | | decir cómo vtr + adv |
| tell it like it is v expr | informal (be honest and direct) | decir las cosas como son loc verb |
| | Okay, I'll tell it like it is, but I don't think you'll like it. |
| | Está bien, te diré las cosas como son, pero no creo que te guste. |
Tell it to the Marines!,
Tell that to the Marines! interj | US, figurative, informal (I don't believe you) | cuéntame una historia de vaqueros expr |
| tell jokes v expr | (recount funny stories) (CR, coloquial) | contar chiles loc verb |
| | It takes guts to go on stage to tell jokes. |
| | | contar chistes loc verb |
| tell lies vtr + npl | (not tell the truth) | decir mentiras loc verb |
| tell lies vtr + npl | (be a habitual liar) | mentir⇒ vi |
| tell me expr | (give me the information) (tuteo) | dime expr |
| | (voseo) | decime expr |
| | (ustedeo) | dígame expr |
| | Tell me it isn't true! |
| | ¡Dime que no es cierto! |
| tell right from wrong v expr | (have a sense of morality) | tener conciencia del bien y del mal loc verb |
| tell tales vtr + npl | informal (inform on [sb]) (coloquial) | inventar cuentos loc verb |
| | Telling tales is what he does best, so you'd better not confide in him. |
| | Inventar cuentos es lo que mejor se le da, así que mejor no le cuentes nada. |
| | (AR) | chismosear⇒ vi |
| | Chismosear es lo que mejor se le da, así que mejor no le cuentes nada. |
| | | ir con el cuento loc verb |
| | (AR, coloquial) | alcahuetear⇒ vtr |
| Note: Ocasionalmente aparece con la grafía: alcagüetear |
| tell tales vtr + npl | figurative, informal (tell lies) | mentir⇒ vi |
| | I don't believe your brother said that. Stop telling tales! |
| tell the future v expr | (predict what will happen) | leer el futuro loc verb |
| | If I could tell the future it would probably scare me to death. |
| | | predecir el futuro loc verb |
| | | adivinar el futuro loc verb |
| | Si pudiera adivinar el futuro, posiblemente moriría de miedo. |
| tell the truth v expr | (be honest) | decir la verdad vtr |
| | If a woman asks if you can guess her age, never tell her the truth! |
| | ¡Si una mujer te pregunta si adivinas su edad, nunca le digas la verdad! |
tell time (US),
tell the time (UK) v expr | (read the hour on an analog clock) | saber la hora loc verb |
| | | decir la hora loc verb |
| | Tiene solo cuatro años pero ya sabe la hora. |
| tell your beads v expr | (recite a rosary) | rezar un rosario loc verb |
| tell [sb]'s fortune v expr | (predict [sb]'s future) | adivinar la suerte loc verb |
telltale,
tell-tale,
tell-tail n | (nautical: indicates air flow) | cataviento nm |
| | The sailor struggled to repair the tell-tale during the storm. |
| Time will tell expr | ([sth] will be revealed) | el tiempo dirá expr |
| | | el tiempo lo dirá expr |
| | Si la decisión que tomaste fue correcta o incorrecta, sólo el tiempo lo dirá. |
| to tell the truth expr | (honestly) | a decir verdad expr |
| | | para ser sincero expr |
| | | la verdad es que... expr |
| | To tell the truth, the show wasn't very good. |
| | A decir verdad, el espectáculo no fue muy bueno. |
| | La verdad es que el espectáculo no fue muy bueno. |
| William Tell n | (character in Swiss legend) | Guillermo Tell n propio m |