murió
/muɾjo/from spelling rules
The English phrase 'he died' is translated into Spanish as murió.
The phrase is used to state that a male person has passed away. You may also use the phrase Él se nos fue to convey the idea that 'he has left us' or the euphemism Él se nos adelantó, which means 'he went ahead of us.'
Which one should you use?
While murió is a direct way to state a death, it is more clinical or blunt than the euphemism falleció.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
In formal contexts, such as a news report or an obituary, the verb fallecer (in the form falleció) is preferred over morir (murió). Other formal options include Él falleció and Él ha fallecido.
How does it change in a sentence?
The form murió is the third-person singular preterite of the verb morir. Depending on the context, it can mean 'he died', 'she died' or 'it died'.
How do you pronounce it?
/muɾjo/
Did you know?
- While murió is the standard, in some Latin American regions, people use the phrase estiró la pata to say 'he kicked the bucket' in an extremely informal and disrespectful way.
- The verb morir can be used colloquially as morirse de… to express an intense feeling, such as morirse de risa ('to die of laughter') or morirse de hambre ('to be starving').
- In many Spanish-speaking cultures, it is common to say está descansando ('he is resting') instead of murió to avoid the harshness of the word 'death' during a wake.
Examples in context
- Murió en la cama.He died in his bed.This sentence is useful for stating the location of the death using murió.Tatoeba #2246851 by Shishir, translation #2239645 by Hybrid
- En serio, él murióReally, he died.This sentence is useful for expressing surprise or emphasis regarding the death using murió.Tatoeba #6945578 by mauro98, translation #6945041 by shekitten
- Murió de un infarto.He died of a heart attack.This sentence is useful for stating the cause of death using murió.Tatoeba #7923383 by arh, translation #299846 by CK
- 106 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Alejandro and María are talking about a mutual friend in a park.
- Alejandro¿Sabes qué pasó con tu hermano?Do you know what happened to your brother?
- MaríaSí, lamentablemente él murió ayer.Yes, unfortunately he died yesterday.
- AlejandroLo siento mucho, María.I am so sorry, María.
- MaríaGracias, Alejandro.Thank you, Alejandro.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
