responder
/responˈdeɾ/
To say text back in Spanish, use responder, the verb for to reply. To make clear you mean a text, say responder un mensaje de texto.
responder means to reply, and in a phone or chat context it is usually paired with un mensaje to show you are replying to a message.
Which one should you use?
contestar is a very common synonym for responder when replying to a message or a person. To stress the idea of sending something back, you can say mandar un mensaje de vuelta.
How does it change in a sentence?
To say he or she texted me back, use the past tense with an indirect object pronoun: me respondió.
How do you pronounce it?
responder is pronounced /responˈdeɾ/, with the stress on the last syllable and a tapped r at the end.
When do people say it?
To ask someone politely to reply, you can say Le agradecería que me contestara el mensaje. Among friends, Avísame cuando leas el mensaje. asks them to let you know when they have read it.
Did you know?
- In certain Latin American contexts, the phrase no me peló is a very slangy way to say someone didn't text back, meaning they completely ignored the sender.
- While responder is the standard term, in some regions, the phrase devolver el mensaje is used, which literally translates to 'returning' the message as if it were a physical object.
- In some dialects of Asturias, the verb related to 'responder' undergoes a sound shift, resulting in the form respuendo instead of the standard version.
Examples in context
- ¡Hola María! Contéstame cuando tengas un momento, ¿vale?Hey Maria! Reply to my message when you get a chance, okay?
- Él tardó mucho en responder.He took a long time to text back.
Example conversation
Sofía is waiting for a message from Javier.
- SofíaJavier, ¿por qué no me quieres responder?Javier, why won't you text me back?
- JavierLo siento, Sofía, no tenía batería.I'm sorry, Sofía, I didn't have battery.
- SofíaEstá bien, pero intenta responder más rápido.It's okay, but try to text back faster.
- JavierClaro, lo haré la próxima vez.Sure, I will do that next time.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry responder, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
