decirlo en serio
/deθiɾlo en seɾjo/from spelling rules
To mean it in Spanish is decirlo en serio.
This phrase is used to express that you are being sincere or serious about something you have said.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of the verb decir (to say), the object pronoun lo (it) and the adverbial phrase en serio (in seriousness or seriously).
Which one should you use?
While decirlo en serio means 'to mean it' in the sense of being sincere, the shorter phrase en serio is often used as an interjection to mean 'Really?' or 'Are you serious?'
How does it change in a sentence?
To use this phrase in different tenses, you must conjugate the verb decir. For example, to say 'I mean it' in the present tense, you say lo digo en serio. To say 'you meant it' in the past tense, you use the preterite form: lo dijiste en serio.
How do you pronounce it?
/deθiɾlo en seɾjo/
Did you know?
- While en serio is a standard way to say you 'mean it', in some Latin American countries, people use the slang word neta to express the same sense of truthfulness.
- The word serio comes from the Latin word sērius, which originally referred to something that was steady or grave.
- When used as a question, ¿en serio? is often accompanied by a raised eyebrow or a specific tilt of the head to signal disbelief. This gesture is more crucial to the meaning of the phrase than the words themselves in casual conversation.
Examples in context
- Te lo digo enfáticamenteI mean it emphatically
- Lo digo de verdadI mean it for real
- Lo digo en serioI mean it
- En serio, lo digo en serioSeriously, I mean it
- Si me dices que me quieres, tienes que decirlo en serio.If you tell me you love me, you have to mean it.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries en, serio, CC BY-SA 4.0.
