deja de morder
/dexa de moɾdeɾ/from spelling rules
The English phrase "stop biting" is translated into Spanish as deja de morder.
This phrase is used as a direct command to tell a person or an animal to cease the act of biting.
Which one should you use?
While deja de morder is a common way to command someone to stop, you can also use No muerdas to mean "Don't bite."
How does it change in a sentence?
The form deja de morder uses the informal imperative (tú) and is appropriate when speaking to a friend, child or peer. If you are commanding more than one person or animal, use dejen de morder. To tell someone to stop biting a part of their own body, such as their nails or lips, you add the reflexive pronoun te to the end of the infinitive to form deja de morderte.
Did you know?
- The word morder shares a common ancient root with the English word 'remorse', which originally described the feeling of being 'bitten back' by regret.
- Spanish uses the same verb morder for both a dog biting a person and a human biting a sandwich, whereas some languages use different words for animals and humans.
Examples in context
- Deja de morderte las uñas.Stop biting your nails.This sentence demonstrates how to use deja de morder when telling someone to stop biting their nails.Tatoeba #1003112 by arashi_29, translation #501792 by darinmex
- Por favor, deja de morderte las uñas. Es malo para tus dientes.Please stop biting your nails. It's bad for your teeth.
- Deja de morderme, eso duele.Stop biting me, that hurts.
- Por favor, deja de mordisquearPlease stop biting.
- Deja de morder el lápiz.Stop biting the pencil.
- ¡Deja de morder el juguete!Stop biting the toy!
Example conversation
Mateo is trying to study while María is playing with a puppy.
- Mateo¡Deja de morder el zapato, cachorrito!Stop biting the shoe, puppy!
- MaríaLo siento, Mateo, es muy travieso.I am sorry, Mateo, he is very naughty.
- MateoEspera, deja de morder la alfombra también.Wait, stop biting the rug too.
- MaríaVoy a buscar su juguete.I am going to look for his toy.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries de, deja, morder, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
