llama o envía un mensaje
/ʝama o embia un mensaxe/from spelling rules
The English phrase "call or text" is translated into Spanish as llama o envía un mensaje.
This phrase is a request for someone to contact you using either a phone call or a text message. In many Spanish-speaking contexts, you may also hear the very common and natural expression escríbeme, which literally means "write to me", used to mean "text me". Additionally, the verb mandar can be used as a synonym for enviar when you want to say "to send".
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of the imperative verb llama (call), the conjunction o (or) and the phrase envía un mensaje (send a message).
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
To make the request formal or polite, you should use the usted forms: llame o envíe un mensaje.
How does it change in a sentence?
To specify that the person should contact you specifically, you add the object pronouns me to the end of the verbs, resulting in llámame o envíame un mensaje.
Did you know?
- In Spanish, the word llama is a triple homonym that can refer to a phone call, a flame or the Andean animal.
- If you are in a casual setting, you can skip the word mensaje entirely and simply say mándame un WhatsApp. In this way, the app name functions as the noun for the message itself.
- The word mensaje is a linguistic relative of the English word 'mission', as both descend from the Latin 'mittere', meaning 'to send'.
Examples in context
- Si tienes dudas, llama o envía un mensaje.If you have doubts, call or text.
- Llama o envía un mensaje cuando llegues a casa.Call or text when you get home.
- Solo llama o envía un mensaje si es urgente.Only call or text if it is urgent.
Example conversation
Mateo and Lucía are making plans to meet later.
- MateoLucía, avísame si vas a venir.Lucía, let me know if you are coming.
- LucíaEstá bien, ¿cómo te contacto?Okay, how should I contact you?
- MateoLlama o envía un mensaje cuando sepas algo.Call or text when you know something.
- LucíaPerfecto, te contactaré más tarde.Perfect, I will contact you later.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries llama, mensaje, o, un, CC BY-SA 4.0.
