arrodillarse
/arodiˈʝaɾse/
To kneel in Spanish is arrodillarse.
Arrodillarse is used to describe the action of stooping down to rest on one's knee.
Meaning: to stoop down and rest on the knee (verb)
How does it change in a sentence?
This is a reflexive verb, which means you must use reflexive pronouns (me, te, se, nos, os, se) when conjugating it. For example, to say "he/she knelt", you combine the reflexive pronoun with the conjugated form of the verb to get se arrodilló.
How do you pronounce it?
/arodiˈʝaɾse/
Did you know?
- The word rodilla in arrodillarse is a cognate of the English 'rotula', which is the medical term for the kneecap.
- In Spanish, the reflexive nature of arrodillarse suggests that the person is performing the action on their own body, rather than simply changing their posture.
- In some Latin American political or social contexts, arrodillarse is used as a metaphor for surrendering to an authority.
Examples in context
- Por favor, arrodíllese ante la iglesia para la oración.Please kneel in front of the church for prayer.
- Se espera que todos los invitados se arrodillen para recibir al Papa.It is expected that all guests kneel to greet the Pope.
- Es costumbre arrodillarse en señal de respeto durante la ceremonia de coronación.It is customary to kneel as a sign of respect during the coronation ceremony.
- Me agaché de rodillas y busqué el anillo que se me cayó.I knelt down and searched for the ring I dropped.
- El niño se puso de rodillas para recoger el juguete.The child knelt to pick up the toy.
- Decidieron agacharse de rodillas para pedir perdón.They decided to kneel down to ask for forgiveness.
- No es necesario arrodillarse para rezar.It is not necessary to kneel to pray.
- Él decidió arrodillarse frente al altar.He decided to kneel in front of the altar.
Example conversation
Elena and Daniel are cleaning a low shelf in the living room.
- ElenaDaniel, debes arrodillarse para limpiar aquí.Daniel, you must kneel to clean here.
- DanielEstá bien, voy a arrodillarse ahora mismo.All right, I will kneel right now.
- ElenaTen cuidado con tus rodillas.Be careful with your knees.
- DanielNo te preocupes, estoy bien.Don't worry, I'm fine.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry arrodillarse, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
