volver / tornar a salir adelante
/bolˈbeɾ toɾˈnaɾ a saˈliɾ adeˈlante/word by word
The English phrase 'recover' can be expressed in Spanish in several ways, such as volver / tornar a salir adelante. Wiktionary also lists no hundirse.
Meaning: intransitive: to get better, regain health (verb)
Ways to say it
| Spanish | IPA |
|---|---|
| volver / tornar a salir adelante | /bolˈbeɾ toɾˈnaɾ a saˈliɾ adeˈlante/ (word by word) |
| no hundirse | /no undiɾse/ (from spelling rules) |
To express the idea of regaining health or getting better, the most common and neutral term is recuperarse. If you want to emphasize the process of restoring oneself physically or emotionally, particularly in medical or health-related contexts, use restablecerse.
Which one should you use?
no hundirse is a more metaphorical way to say one is not sinking or giving up. For a more casual approach, ponerse bien is used to mean 'getting better'.
How do you pronounce it?
/bolˈbeɾ toɾˈnaɾ a saˈliɾ adeˈlante/
Did you know?
- The verb salir in the phrase salir adelante is a direct cognate of the English word 'sally', as both derive from the Latin word for 'to leap' or 'to jump'.
- While recuperarse refers to health, the phrase salir adelante is often used to describe recovering from a financial crisis or a personal tragedy.
- The word hundirse, used in no hundirse, literally means 'to sink', framing emotional recovery as an act of staying afloat in water.
Examples in context
- Después de la cirugía, es importante que te recuperes bienAfter the surgery, it's important for you to recover properly
- Es fundamental que el paciente se restablezca completamente antes de recibir el alta médicaIt is essential for the patient to fully recover before being discharged
- Lamento que estuvieras enfermo, espero que te pongas bien prontoI'm sorry you were sick, I hope you get better soon
- No te preocupes, con el tiempo, tu corazón sanaráDon't worry, with time, your heart will heal
- Después del divorcio, tomó tiempo recobrarse, pero ahora está felizAfter the divorce, it took time to recover, but now she's happy
- Después de la gripe, necesito tiempo para reponermeAfter the flu, I need time to recover
Sources
- Wiktionary, “recover” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- IPA marked “word by word” joins the Wiktionary pronunciations of each word (volver, tornar, a, salir, adelante) and can differ in connected speech.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries a, adelante, no, salir, tornar, volver, CC BY-SA 4.0.
