humillar
/umiˈʝaɾ/
To humiliate in Spanish is humillar. Wiktionary also lists papear.
Meaning: to injure a person's dignity and self-respect (verb)
Ways to say it
| Spanish | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| humillar | /umiˈʝaɾ/ | |
| papear | /papeˈaɾ/ | Internet |
The verb is used to describe injuring a person's dignity and self-respect. You may also use desprestigiar if you specifically mean to disgrace someone.
Which one should you use?
While humillar is the standard way to express humiliation, the term papear is used specifically in internet contexts to describe humiliating or completely outclassing someone, often within gaming or social media.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
papear is internet slang.
How does it change in a sentence?
humillar is a regular -ar verb. When you want to attach a direct object pronoun to the infinitive, you attach it to the end of the verb. For example, you can form humillarlo to mean to humiliate him or it and humillarla to mean to humiliate her.
How do you pronounce it?
/umiˈʝaɾ/
Did you know?
- While humillar is used for dignity, Spanish speakers often use the verb ningunear to describe the specific humiliation of treating someone as if they are 'nobody'.
- The slang term papear literally means 'to eat baby food' or 'to feed someone soft food' in standard Spanish.
- The formal verb humillar shares a common ancestor with the Latin word for 'humble', which originally meant 'to keep low to the ground'.
Examples in context
- Solo quiero humillar a Tom.I just want to humiliate Tom.This sentence shows the use of humillar with a person's name.Tatoeba #2081591 by marcelostockle, translation #2013552 by CK
- Solo quiero humillarlo.I just want to humiliate him.This sentence demonstrates how to attach the pronoun to the end of humillar to mean 'humiliate him'.Tatoeba #9980753 by manufrutos, translation #3914642 by CH
- La mujer estaba que echaba chispas. Nunca nadie se había atrevido a humillarla así.The woman looked like she was about to blow. No one had dared humiliate her like this before.This sentence shows the use of humillarla to mean 'humiliate her'.Tatoeba #986776 by Shishir, translation #10465427 by DJ_Saidez
- La líder política humilló a su oponente durante el debate.The political leader humiliated her opponent during the debate.
- El profesor destruyó la confianza del estudiante al humillarlo públicamente.The teacher destroyed the student's confidence by humiliating him publicly.
- Mis amigos me avergonzaron al recordarme ese momento incómodo.My friends humiliated me by reminding me of that awkward moment.
- Me bochornaron frente a toda la clase al ridiculizarme.They humiliated me in front of the whole class by ridiculing me.
- 3 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Daniel and Lucía are discussing a conflict at work.
- DanielNo puedo creer que el jefe intentara humillar a Daniel.I can't believe the boss tried to humiliate Daniel.
- LucíaFue muy cruel gritarle delante de todos.It was very cruel to yell at him in front of everyone.
- DanielSí, nadie merece que lo quieran humillar así.Yes, nobody deserves to be humiliated like that.
- LucíaTienes razón, Lucía estará muy molesta por esto.You're right, Lucía will be very upset about this.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “humiliate” translations and entries humillar, papear, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries humillar, papear, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
