conduce con cuidado
/konduθe kon kwidado/from spelling rules
To say "drive carefully" in Spanish, you use conduce con cuidado.
This phrase is used to instruct a driver to operate a vehicle in a safe manner.
What does it mean word for word?
The part con cuidado literally translates to "with care".
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Spain, you can say conduce con cuidado or conduce con precaución. In Mexico, one might say Maneja con precaución, while in many Latin American countries, maneja con cuidado is more commonly used than conduce con cuidado.
How does it change in a sentence?
The form conduce con cuidado uses the 'tú' imperative, suitable for friends, family or people your own age. If you are addressing a group of people, use the plural form conduzcan con cuidado.
Did you know?
- The word maneja used in Mexico to mean 'drive' is the same word used to describe managing a business or handling a difficult situation.
- The root of cuidado comes from the Latin word 'cogitatus', which is related to the idea of 'thinking' or 'reflecting'.
- While conduce con cuidado is a common instruction, the noun cuidado can also be used as a standalone exclamation to tell someone to 'be careful' in an emergency.
Examples in context
- Conduce con cuidado, o te meterás en problemas.Drive carefully, or you'll run into trouble.This sentence shows the consequence of not driving carefully using conduce con cuidado.Tatoeba #1526315 by marcelostockle, translation #1481691 by weihaiping
- ¡Conduce con cuidado! Los caminos arriba son traicioneros.Drive carefully! Those are treacherous roads up there.This sentence uses conduce con cuidado to warn about treacherous roads.Tatoeba #2833139 by marcelostockle, translation #2833140 by marcelostockle
- Conduce con cuidado.Drive carefully.This is a simple way to use conduce con cuidado.Tatoeba #339012 by tatoerique, translation #265500 by CK
- Juan, conduce con cuidado.Juan, drive carefully.
Example conversation
Elena is leaving for a road trip and Mateo is seeing her off.
- Mateo¡Buen viaje, Elena!Have a good trip, Elena!
- ElenaGracias, Mateo.Thanks, Mateo.
- MateoConduce con cuidado en la carretera.Drive carefully on the highway.
- ElenaLo haré, no te preocupes.I will, don't worry.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries con, cuidado, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
