se me averió el coche
/se me abeɾjo el kot͡ʃe/from spelling rules
To say 'my car broke down' in Spanish, you use se me averió el coche.
This phrase is used when a vehicle stops working due to a mechanical failure.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase literally translates to 'the car broke down on me' to express that the failure happened to the speaker.
Which one should you use?
Using se me averió el coche instead of mi coche se averió shifts the focus from the car itself to the inconvenience experienced by the speaker. You can also use the verb estropearse interchangeably with averiarse in the phrase se me estropeó el coche to mean that something broke down or malfunctioned.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Mexico, the word carro is commonly used instead of automóvil or coche.
How does it change in a sentence?
The use of the indirect object pronoun me indicates that the speaker is the person affected by the car's mechanical failure.
How do you pronounce it?
/se me abeɾjo el kotʃe/
Did you know?
- The word coche is a relative of the English word 'coach'. Both terms trace back to Kocs, a village in Hungary where advanced horse-drawn carriages were first produced in the 15th century.
- In some regions, using se me… for things that break is so common that it applies to everything from lightbulbs to relationships. It implies the event was an external misfortune that happened to the person rather than a failure they caused.
- While averiarse is used for mechanical failures, the word avería also refers to a breakdown in a naval or aviation context. This reflects the word's history in describing damage to ships and vessels.
Examples in context
- No puedo ir a la fiesta porque se me averió el coche.I cannot go to the party because my car broke down.
- Llamé al mecánico porque se me averió el coche en la carretera.I called the mechanic because my car broke down on the highway.
- Qué mala suerte, se me averió el coche esta mañana.What bad luck, my car broke down this morning.
Example conversation
Sofía is calling Javier to explain why she is late.
- SofíaHola Javier, no llegaré pronto porque se me averió el coche.Hello Javier, I won't arrive soon because my car broke down.
- JavierLo siento, Sofía, ¿necesitas que te recoja?I'm sorry, Sofía, do you need me to pick you up?
- SofíaSí, por favor, estoy en la gasolinera.Yes, please, I am at the gas station.
- JavierEstá bien, voy para allá ahora mismo.Okay, I am going there right now.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries coche, el, me, se, CC BY-SA 4.0.
