What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of the verb hacer (to make/do), the indirect object pronoun te (to you) and the noun daño (harm/damage). Literally, it means 'to make to you harm'.
Which one should you use?
While hacerte daño is the standard way to express general hurt, the single verb herirte is often used when referring specifically to physical wounding or deep emotional wounding. For a more formal way to say 'to harm you' or 'to hurt you', you can use hacerle daño. Additionally, if you wish to specifically mean 'to cause you pain' in a formal tone, you can use causarte dolor.
How does it change in a sentence?
To change the person being hurt, you must change the object pronoun. While hacerte daño uses the pronoun for 'you' (informal), hacerle daño is used for 'him', 'her' or 'you' (formal).
How do you pronounce it?
/aθeɾte daɲo/
Did you know?
- Spanish speakers use hacerse daño (reflexive) to describe accidentally hurting oneself, such as stubbing a toe, which is a different grammatical structure than hacerte daño.
- The word daño shares a common ancestor with the English word 'damage', both stemming from the Latin 'damnum', which originally referred to an 'expense' or 'investment'.
- The word daño is used in legal contexts across many Spanish-speaking countries to refer specifically to 'damages' or financial compensation in a lawsuit.
Examples in context
- No quise hacerte daño.I didn't mean to hurt you.This sentence shows how to express that one did not intend to hacerte daño.Tatoeba #9983426 by Shishir, translation #17044 by CK
- Nadie va a hacerte daño.Nobody's going to hurt you.This sentence is used to reassure someone that nobody is going to hacerte daño.Tatoeba #2114182 by Shishir, translation #1841591 by CK
- No estoy aquí para hacerte daño.I'm not here to hurt you.This sentence expresses that one's presence is not intended to hacerte daño.Tatoeba #9988149 by manufrutos, translation #2545338 by CK
- No quiero hacerte dañoI don't want to hurt you
- No quiero causarte dolorI don't want to cause you pain
- No tengo intención de infligirte sufrimientoI have no intention of inflicting suffering on you
- No quiero hacerte sentir malI don't want to make you feel bad
- 7 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Daniel is apologizing to Elena after a heated argument.
- DanielPerdón, Elena, no quería hacerte daño.Forgive me, Elena, I did not want to hurt you.
- ElenaTus palabras me hicieron mucho daño.Your words hurt me a lot.
- DanielLo siento mucho, de verdad.I am very sorry, truly.
- ElenaEstá bien, pero necesito tiempo.It is okay, but I need time.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries daño, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
