What does it mean word for word?
The verb is a compound of acostar, meaning to lay or place someone or something and the reflexive pronoun se, which indicates that one is laying oneself down.
How does it change in a sentence?
As a reflexive verb, you must use reflexive pronouns (me, te, se, nos, os, se) to indicate that the subject is the one performing the action upon themselves. The verb is also stem-changing: the 'o' in the root changes to 'ue' in most conjugated forms, such as in me acuesto (I go to bed), te acuestas (you go to bed), se acuesta (he/she/you formal go to bed) and se acuestan (they/you all go to bed). The conjugation for the first person singular present tense is Yo me acuesto, the second person singular is Tú te acuestas, the third person singular is Él/Ella/Usted se acuesta, the first person plural is Nosotros/Nosotras nos acostamos, the second person plural is Vosotros/Vosotras os acostáis and the third person plural is Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes se acuestan.
How do you pronounce it?
/akosˈtaɾse/
When do people say it?
In a colloquial context, the expression Meterse en la cama can be used to mean 'to get into bed'.
Did you know?
- While you use acostarse to mean 'to go to bed', if you say acostarse con alguien, it is frequently used as a euphemism for 'to sleep with someone' in a sexual sense.
- Spanish has a specific word, trasnochar, which describes the act of staying awake long after the time one usually se acuesta.
- In many Spanish-speaking cultures, it is common to use acostarse in a medical context to tell a patient to lie down on an exam table, even though there is no bed present.
Examples in context
- Me voy a la cama temprano.I'm going to bed early.
- Después de cepillarme los dientes, me meto en la cama.After brushing my teeth, I get into bed.
- Voy a echarme un ratoI'm going to lie down for a while
- Me voy a acostar ahora.I am going to go to bed now.
- Es tarde, es mejor acostarse ya.It is late, it is better to go to bed now.
Example conversation
Elena and Alejandro are talking in the living room at night.
- ElenaEstoy muy cansada, voy a acostarse ya.I am very tired, I am going to bed now.
- AlejandroYo también, vamos a acostarse.Me too, let's go to bed.
- ElenaApaga la luz antes de acostarse, Alejandro.Turn off the light before going to bed, Alejandro.
- AlejandroEstá bien, lo haré ahora mismo.All right, I will do it right now.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry acostarse, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
