Ways to say it
| Spanish | IPA |
|---|---|
| atropellar | /atɾopeˈʝaɾ/ |
| arrollar | /aroˈʝaɾ/ |
Both atropellar and arrollar are used to describe the act of driving over someone or something with a vehicle, resulting in injury or death.
Which one should you use?
While atropellar is the standard term for being run over by a vehicle, arrollar can also mean to crush or to overwhelm.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In certain Latin American regions, arrollar is commonly used to mean the same thing as atropellar. It also carries the meanings of to crush or to overwhelm.
How does it change in a sentence?
When the object being run over is a person, you must use the personal 'a' before the person's name or the pronoun (e.g., atropellar a [persona]). Additionally, the first-person singular present indicative of atropellar is atropello, meaning 'I run over' or 'I hit with a vehicle'.
How do you pronounce it?
/atɾopeˈʝaɾ/
Did you know?
- In many Spanish-speaking countries, atropellar can also be used figuratively to mean 'to interrupt' someone rudely, as if you have run over their conversation with a vehicle.
- In some Spanish-speaking contexts, arrollar can be used to describe the act of rolling up a carpet or a piece of fabric.
- The word arrollar is frequently used in sports to describe a team that completely dominates and crushes its opponent.
Examples in context
- Estuvieron a punto de atropellarle.He was nearly run over by a car.This sentence is useful for expressing a near-miss involving the form atropellar.Tatoeba #1614216 by Alba, translation #295007 by CK
- Lo atropellaron y murió en el lugar.He was run over and killed on the spot.This sentence describes a fatal accident using the form atropellar.Tatoeba #1854628 by marcelostockle, translation #292494 by Dejo
- Atropellaron a un hombre frente a mi casa. Estoy sola y no sé qué hacer.A man was run over right in front of my house. I'm all alone and don't know what to do.This sentence illustrates a witness account of an accident involving the form atropellar.Tatoeba #2845880 by marcelostockle, translation #2461399 by erikspen
- El conductor atropelló a un peatón.The driver ran over a pedestrian.
- El automóvil atropelló al perro.The car ran over the dog.
- El tren arrolló a un auto en la vía.The train ran over a car on the tracks.
- 3 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two friends are talking about a traffic accident they saw.
- AlejandroVi que un coche casi atropellar a ese perro.I saw that a car almost ran over that dog.
- LucíaMenos mal que el perro pudo cruzar rápido.Luckily the dog was able to cross quickly.
- AlejandroSí, el conductor iba muy distraído.Yes, the driver was very distracted.
- LucíaEs peligroso, alguien podría atropellar a un peatón.It is dangerous, someone could run over a pedestrian.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “run over” translations and entries atropellar, arrollar, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
