How to Say "Stop It Now" in Spanish

deténlo ahora

/detenlo aoɾa/from spelling rules

The English phrase "stop it now" can be translated into Spanish as deténlo ahora.

This phrase is a command used to tell someone to end a specific action or behavior immediately. You can add ahora mismo to the end of phrases to mean "right now", or use the word ya to mean "already" or "now". For a more forceful way to say "stop it once and for all", you can use ¡Deténlo de una vez! or use ¡Termina con eso ahora mismo! to mean "Put an end to that right now".

What does it mean word for word?

The phrase deténlo ahora is composed of the imperative verb detén (stop), the object pronoun lo (it) and the adverb ahora (now).

Which one should you use?

Pare ahora translates to "stop now", and Para ya also translates to "stop now".

Is it said differently in some regions?

In Mexico, the phrase ¡Basta! is often used to firmly command someone to stop. In Argentina, the colloquial expression ¡Che, pará la moto! is used to convey the idea of stopping someone from doing something.

How does it change in a sentence?

The form deténlo ahora uses the informal tú imperative, which is suitable for friends, children or peers. If you wish to use the formal usted form, the verb changes to detenga, resulting in deténgalo ahora. The word Para is the informal second person singular imperative of the verb parar.

Did you know?

The Portuguese word for 'now' is agora, preserving the form that was largely replaced by ahora in standard Spanish.

Example conversation

Mateo is making a loud noise that is bothering Sofía.

Sofía

Mateo, deténlo ahora.
Mateo, stop it now.
Mateo

¿Qué hice?
What did I do?
Sofía

Estás haciendo mucho ruido.
You are making too much noise.
Mateo

Está bien, lo siento.
Okay, I'm sorry.

Sources

IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
Word origins: Wiktionary entries ahora, CC BY-SA 4.0.

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How to Say “Stop It Now” in Spanish