trabajé
/tɾabaxe/from spelling rules
The English phrase "I worked" is translated into Spanish as trabajé.
trabajé is the first-person singular past tense of the verb work.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Argentina or Uruguay, you might hear the informal term laburé to mean "I worked".
How does it change in a sentence?
The imperfect tense trabajaba is used instead of trabajé when describing ongoing or habitual work in the past, such as "I used to work" or "I was working".
How do you pronounce it?
/tɾabaxe/
Did you know?
- The root of trabajé comes from the Latin tripalium, which was a three-staked instrument of torture. Over time, the meaning evolved from 'suffering torture' to 'performing hard labor'.
- While trabajé is standard, the slang term laburé comes from laburo, a word derived from the Italian lavoro. This is why it is primarily used in regions with heavy Italian immigration like Argentina and Uruguay.
- In some contexts, using the verb trabajar to describe an object, such as 'el motor trabaja bien', translates to 'the engine works well'. However, in many Spanish-speaking countries, people prefer to say funciona for machines.
Examples in context
- Trabajé en una granja.I worked on a farm.This sentence shows how to use trabajé to describe a location where you worked.Tatoeba #1332532 by Shishir, translation #259900 by CK
- Trabajé toda la noche.I worked all night.This sentence uses trabajé to specify the duration of work during the night.Tatoeba #1935424 by hayastan, translation #278741 by CK
- Trabajé toda esta semana.I worked all this week.This sentence uses trabajé to specify the duration of work during a week.Tatoeba #3415026 by cueyayotl, translation #242096 by hasentier
- Le informo que he trabajado arduamente en este proyecto.I inform you that I have worked hard on this project.
- 26 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Daniel and Sofía are talking about their busy Monday.
- DanielAyer trabajé mucho.Yesterday I worked a lot.
- Sofía¿Estás muy cansada?Are you very tired?
- DanielSí, pero terminé mis tareas.Yes, but I finished my tasks.
- SofíaQué bueno, Daniel.That's good, Daniel.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
