no jugar
/no xuɡaɾ/from spelling rules
In Spanish, "no play" is translated as no jugar.
The phrase no jugar refers to the act of not participating in a game or an activity.
How does it change in a sentence?
When using the phrase in different tenses, you can use the first-person singular preterite form no jugué to say "I did not play" or the first-person plural preterite form no jugamos to say "we did not play". For the future tense, the first-person singular form is no jugaré, which means "I will not play".
How do you pronounce it?
/no xuɡaɾ/
Did you know?
- While jugar means 'to play' in the context of games and sports, Spanish uses a completely different verb, tocar, to describe playing a musical instrument.
- The Spanish word jugar and the English word 'joke' are distant linguistic relatives, both tracing back to the Latin word iocus, meaning 'jest'.
- The phrase no jugar con… is often used idiomatically to mean 'not messing around' or 'not trifling' with a person or a serious situation.
Examples in context
- Lamentablemente no puedo participar en el juego esta noche. Tengo un compromiso previoUnfortunately, I cannot participate in the game tonight. I have a prior commitment
- Me gustaría participar en el evento deportivo, pero no puedo debido a una lesión en la rodillaI would like to participate in the sports event, but I cannot due to a knee injury
- Hoy no me apetece jugar al tenis. Prefiero descansarI don't feel like playing tennis today. I prefer to rest
- No tengo ganas de jugar videojuegos ahora. Prefiero leer un libroI don't feel like playing video games now. I prefer to read a book
- No jugar es una opción hoy.Not playing is an option today.
- Su decisión de no jugar fue extraña.His decision not to play was strange.
Example conversation
Lucía and Mateo are talking about a board game.
- LucíaMateo, ¿quieres jugar conmigo?Mateo, do you want to play with me?
- MateoPrefiero no jugar ahora, Lucía.I prefer not to play right now, Lucía.
- Lucía¿Por qué no quieres jugar?Why don't you want to play?
- MateoEstoy muy cansado hoy.I am very tired today.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries jugar, no, CC BY-SA 4.0.
