hacer la cama
/aˌθeɾ la ˈkama/
To say "make your bed" in Spanish, you use hacer la cama.
The phrase is used to describe the act of tidying the sheets and blankets on a bed after waking up.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase hacer la cama literally translates to "to make the bed".
Which one should you use?
Ordena tu cama specifically means "tidy up your bed", and Arregla tu cama is another way to express the idea of making the bed when used among friends or family. For a more affectionate or diminutive tone, such as when speaking to children, you can use Haz la camita, which means "make the little bed".
How do you pronounce it?
/aˌθeɾ la ˈkama/
Did you know?
- The word hacer in hacer la cama shares a deep ancestral root with the English word 'do', as both originate from the Proto-Indo-European root *dʰeh₁- meaning 'to put' or 'to place'.
- The verb hacer is so versatile that it is used for weather descriptions, such as hace sol for 'it is sunny', even though the bed-making phrase uses the same word for 'creating' or 'fixing'.
- In some Spanish-speaking cultures, particularly in Spain, it is common to see beds made with a colcha and a manta, where the manta is a heavier blanket tucked tightly for warmth.
Examples in context
- Buenos días, ¿puede arreglar su cama, por favor?Good morning, can you make your bed, please?
- ¡Hola! Ordena tu cama antes de salir, ¿de acuerdo?Hi! Tidy up your bed before going out, okay?
- Tienes que hacer la cama antes de salir.You have to make your bed before leaving.
- Tengo que hacer la cama antes de salir.I have to make the bed before leaving.
Example conversation
A parent and child are talking in the bedroom.
- AlejandroAlejandro, ¿ya terminaste de hacer la cama?Alejandro, did you finish making the bed already?
- LucíaNo, Lucía, lo haré en un momento.No, Lucía, I will do it in a moment.
- AlejandroHazlo ahora, por favor.Do it now, please.
- LucíaEstá bien, voy a hacer la cama ya.Okay, I am going to make the bed now.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry hacer la cama, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries cama, hacer, la, CC BY-SA 4.0.
