presionar play
/pɾesjonaɾ plai/from spelling rules
The English phrase 'press play' can be translated into Spanish as presionar play.
This phrase describes the action of starting the playback of audio or video by pushing a button.
Which one should you use?
While presionar play is a standard way to express the action, you can use reproducir as a single verb to mean 'to play' or 'to reproduce'. In more casual settings, the informal phrase darle al play is a common way to say 'to hit play'. For a more professional or technical tone, Inicia la reproducción is used to mean 'start the playback'.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Argentina, the phrase Apretá play is specifically used to mean 'Press play'.
How do you pronounce it?
/pɾesjonaɾ plai/
Did you know?
- The verb reproducir can refer to playing a video, but it also means 'to reproduce' in a biological sense.
- While English uses 'play' to mean both 'a theatrical performance' and 'to start media', in Spanish these are entirely different words, such as obra for a play and reproducir for media.
- The verb reproducir, often used to mean 'to play' media, is a cognate of the English 'reproduce', which can lead to confusion with biological reproduction in certain contexts.
Examples in context
- Presiona play, por favorPress play, please
- Por favor, presione play en el reproductor.Please, press play on the player.
- ¡Oye, dale al play!Hey, press play!
- Tienes que ponerle play al video.You have to hit play on the video.
- Solo tienes que presionar play.You just have to press play.
- No olvides presionar play en el video.Don't forget to press play on the video.
Example conversation
Javier and Elena are in the living room watching a movie.
- JavierLa película está lista.The movie is ready.
- Elena¿Debo presionar play ahora?Should I press play now?
- JavierSí, por favor, presiona play.Yes, please, press play.
- ElenaVale, ya empezó.Okay, it has started.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
