amagar
/amaɡaɾ/from spelling rules
To juke in Spanish is amagar.
The verb amagar is used to describe the act of making a fake movement to deceive an opponent, such as in sports or combat.
Is it said differently in some regions?
The verb 'gambetear' is a popular choice in Argentina and Uruguay to capture the concept of juking.
How does it change in a sentence?
The first-person singular preterite form of amagar is amagué.
How do you pronounce it?
/amaɡaɾ/
Did you know?
- One theory suggests amagar comes from the Latin word magus, meaning 'sorcerer'. This implies that 'juking' was originally viewed as a form of magic or bewitching an opponent.
- While amagar is used for sports, it is also used in legal or social contexts to describe a 'threat' of action that is never actually carried out.
- The concept of 'juking' can be expressed by the word regate, which refers to the physical dribbling or maneuvering used to bypass a defender.
Examples in context
- El jugador hábilmente despistó a sus adversarios en el campo de fútbol.The player skillfully juked his opponents on the soccer field.
- Messi regatea a los defensas y anota un gol espectacular.Messi jukes the defenders and scores a spectacular goal.
- ¡Viste cómo gambeteó al arquero y consiguió marcar un golazo!Did you see how he juked the goalkeeper and scored an amazing goal!
- Messi burló a los defensas con sus habilidosos movimientos.Messi juked the defenders with his skillful moves.
- En la película de fútbol, el protagonista sorprendió a todos al regatear a los oponentes.In the soccer movie, the protagonist surprised everyone by juking the opponents.
- El jugador amagó un tiro para engañar al defensa.The player feinted a shot to trick the defender.
- El jugador va a amagar hacia la izquierda.The player is going to juke to the left.
Example conversation
María and Daniel are playing a game of basketball.
- MaríaMira cómo voy a amagar ahora.Watch how I'm going to juke now.
- DanielNo creo que me engañes, María.I don't think you can trick me, María.
- María¡Te logré amagar y ya anoté!I managed to juke you and I already scored!
- DanielTienes razón, fue un gran movimiento.You're right, that was a great move.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries amagar, CC BY-SA 4.0.
