Which one should you use?
While date prisa is used for an informal context, you can use dése prisa to tell someone to be quick using the formal usted register. For a formal way to say "be quick", you may also use Sea rápido and Apúrese is another formal way to express "be quick". If you want to express the idea colloquially, you can use Muévete to mean "move quickly".
How does it change in a sentence?
The form date prisa uses the imperative command form for the informal second-person singular tú. To address someone formally using the usted register, the form changes to dése prisa.
How do you pronounce it?
/date pɾisa/
What mistakes should you avoid?
Be careful not to use dar prisa when you mean to hurry yourself. In Spanish, dar prisa means to cause someone else to hurry, whereas darse prisa means to hurry oneself.
Did you know?
- In Spanish, if you say Tengo prisa, you are not just saying you are in a hurry, but that you literally 'have' hurry as a possession.
- The word prisa shares a common ancestor with the English word 'press', as both stem from the Latin 'pressa', which relates to the idea of being pressed or urged.
- While date prisa is used in Spain, speakers in Mexico and parts of Latin America are far more likely to use apúrate to tell someone to be quick.
Examples in context
- ¡Date prisa! No tenemos mucho tiempo.Be quick! We haven't much time.This sentence is useful for practicing the command date prisa.Tatoeba #634250 by qdii, translation #273997 by qdii
- Por favor, sea rápido en completar el informe.Please be quick in completing the report.
- Apúrese, no tenemos mucho tiempo.Hurry up, we don't have much time.
- ¡Date prisa, llegaremos tarde al cine!Hurry up, we'll be late for the movie!
- ¡Apúrate, vamos a perdernos el autobús!Hurry up, we're going to miss the bus!
- ¡Muévete, tenemos que terminar antes de que oscurezca!Move quickly, we have to finish before it gets dark!
- Date prisa con la maleta.Hurry up with the suitcase.
- Date prisa o perderemos el tren.Be quick or we will miss the train.
Example conversation
Sofía and Javier are getting ready to leave the house.
- Sofía¡Date prisa, Javier!Hurry up, Javier!
- JavierYa voy, Sofía.I'm coming, Sofia.
- SofíaEl taxi está afuera.The taxi is outside.
- JavierYa salgo de la casa.I'm leaving the house now.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries prisa, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
