acobardarse
/akobaɾdaɾse/from spelling rules
The English phrase "chicken it" (meaning to decide not to do something because of fear) is translated into Spanish as acobardarse.
How does it change in a sentence?
The reflexive form acobardarse is used to express that the subject themselves is the one becoming afraid. To form the past tense, such as "he/she chickened out", you use the reflexive pronoun se followed by the conjugated verb, as in se acobardó.
How do you pronounce it?
/akobaɾdaɾse/
Did you know?
- While 'chicken' in English is an insult for a coward, the Spanish verb acobardarse comes from the word cobarde, which is rooted in the Latin word for 'shield'.
- In many Spanish-speaking countries, instead of using 'chicken', people might say echarse para atrás, which literally translates to 'to throw oneself backwards'.
- While acobardarse is used generally, in some regions, saying someone is gallina is the direct equivalent of calling someone a 'chicken' to provoke them.
Examples in context
- Sí, tenemos pollo fresco en la sección de carnesYes, we have fresh chicken in the meat section.
- ¿Vamos a comer pollo esta noche?Shall we have chicken tonight?
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
