díselo
/diselo/from spelling rules
The English phrase 'tell them' can be translated into Spanish as díselo.
This phrase is a command used to instruct someone to convey a specific piece of information to another person or group.
Which one should you use?
Díselo specifically includes the object 'it' (the information being told), whereas diles focuses only on the recipients (them).
How does it change in a sentence?
When using the form díselo, the pronoun changes if the information being conveyed is plural. Additionally, diles is used when you want to say 'tell them' without specifying 'it' (the information) as a direct object pronoun.
How do you pronounce it?
/diselo/
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often try to use 'le' for 'to him/her/them' in this construction, such as saying 'dílelo'. However, when followed by 'lo', 'le' must change to 'se', so you should say díselo instead.
Did you know?
- While English uses the same word 'tell' for both a person and a story, Spanish users must choose between decir and contar depending on whether they are conveying a fact or a narrative. If you are telling them a long story, you might use cuéntaselo instead of díselo.
- The word decir comes from the Latin dicere, which is a distant relative of the English word 'dictionary'.
- If you want to tell someone 'don't tell them', you cannot simply add 'no' to the start of díselo. You must switch the entire verb structure to no se lo digas.
Examples in context
- Dígales que la reunión se pospondrá hasta nuevo avisoTell them the meeting will be postponed until further notice
- Comuníqueles que el evento comenzará a las 8 de la mañanaTell them the event will start at 8 in the morning
- Diles que llegaremos una hora tardeTell them we will arrive one hour late
- Cuéntales lo que hemos planeado para la fiesta sorpresaTell them what we have planned for the surprise party
Example conversation
Javier and Sofía are discussing a surprise party.
- JavierSofía, ya tenemos la fecha de la fiesta.Sofía, we already have the date for the party.
- Sofía¿Quieres que yo llame a los invitados?Do you want me to call the guests?
- JavierSí, por favor, díselo tú.Yes, please, tell them.
- SofíaEstá bien, yo me encargo ahora.All right, I'll take care of it now.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
