jugar juegos
/xuɡaɾ xweɡos/from spelling rules
To play games in Spanish is jugar juegos.
The phrase is used to describe engaging in activities for amusement, such as board games or video games. Note that the Spanish word for video games is videojuegos and the phrase for outdoor games is juegos al aire libre.
Which one should you use?
While jugar is the verb used for playing games and sports, you should use the verb tocar instead when you are talking about playing musical instruments.
How does it change in a sentence?
The verb jugar is an o-ue stem-changing verb, which means it changes to juego in the first-person singular present tense.
How do you pronounce it?
/xuɡaɾ xweɡos/
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often mistakenly use jugar juegos when they should simply use the verb jugar followed by the specific type of game, because jugar juegos is considered redundant in Spanish.
Did you know?
- Spanish speakers use jugar for sports, but they use the reflexive form jugársela to describe taking a big gamble or risking everything.
- The verb jugar is a linguistic oddity because it is the only verb in the entire Spanish language that follows the 'u' to 'ue' stem-change pattern.
- While jugar is used for games, the Spanish word juego can also refer to a matching 'set' of items, such as a 'set' of sheets or a 'set' of tools.
Examples in context
- Alguien quiere jugar juegos.Someone wants to play games.This sentence is useful for seeing how to use jugar juegos.Tatoeba #2800912 by marcelostockle, translation #2013043 by CK
Example conversation
Lucía and Javier are deciding what to do at home.
- LucíaJavier, ¿quieres jugar juegos hoy?Javier, do you want to play games today?
- JavierSí, suena divertido. ¿Qué tenemos?Yes, that sounds fun. What do we have?
- LucíaPodemos jugar juegos en la consola.We can play games on the console.
- JavierPerfecto, vamos a empezar ahora.Perfect, let's start now.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
