How to Say “Play Computer Games” in Spanish

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jugar juegos de computadora
/xuɡaɾ xweɡos de komputadoɾa/from spelling rules
To play computer games in Spanish is jugar juegos de computadora.
The phrase describes the act of spending time playing electronic games on a computer. jugar videojuegos is a more common and natural way to express playing computer or electronic games in Spanish.

Which one should you use?

You may also see Jugar a los videojuegos en la PC to specifically mean playing video games on a PC or jugar videojuegos.

Is it said differently in some regions?

The word for computer varies by region: ordenador is commonly used in Spain, while computadora is more frequently used in Latin America. Additionally, jugar juegos de la compu is a common informal way to express this in many Latin American countries, using the abbreviation la compu.

How does it change in a sentence?

In many Spanish-speaking regions, the verb jugar is followed by the preposition a when referring to playing a game or sport, such as in the phrase jugar a los juegos de computadora.

How do you pronounce it?

/xuɡaɾ xweɡos de komputadoɾa/

What mistakes should you avoid?

Be careful not to use tocar to mean 'to play' in this context. For games and sports, always use jugar.

Did you know?

  • The Spanish word jugar is a cognate of the English word 'joke', as both are derived from the Latin 'iocus', meaning 'jest' or 'joke'.
  • The verb jugar is a linguistic oddity because it is the only verb in Spanish that undergoes a specific change from 'u' to 'ue' in its conjugation.

Examples in context

  • ¿Quieres jugar videojuegos en la compu esta tarde? ¡Será divertido!
    Do you want to play video games on the computer this afternoon? It'll be fun!
  • ¡Vamos a cacharrear con los videojuegos en la compu hasta altas horas de la noche!
    Let's mess around with computer games on the computer until late at night!
  • Me gusta jugar juegos de computadora los fines de semana.
    I like to play computer games on the weekends.
  • No podemos jugar juegos de computadora ahora mismo.
    We cannot play computer games right now.

Example conversation

Alejandro and Lucía are discussing their hobbies at home.

  1. Alejandro

    Lucía, ¿te gusta jugar juegos de computadora?
    Lucía, do you like to play computer games?
  2. Lucía

    Sí, pero no tengo mucho tiempo ahora.
    Yes, but I don't have much time right now.
  3. Alejandro

    Podemos jugar juegos de computadora el sábado.
    We can play computer games on Saturday.
  4. Lucía

    Me parece una idea excelente, Alejandro.
    That sounds like an excellent idea, Alejandro.

Sources

  • IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
  • Word origins: Wiktionary entries computadora, de, jugar, CC BY-SA 4.0.
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Carly Kylie
Carly KylieHelp make this guide better. Spot a mistake, know another way to say it, or have an example from real life? Share it below.
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