enterarse
/enteɾaɾse/from spelling rules
In Spanish, the phrase 'to find out' is translated as enterarse.
The verb is used to express learning a piece of information or discovering a fact, often by chance or through others. While descubrir is used for discovering something physical or a scientific truth, enterarse is more commonly used for finding out news, gossip or specific pieces of information.
What does it mean word for word?
The reflexive form enterarse is built from the verb enterar (to inform/make aware) and the reflexive pronoun se, literally meaning 'to make oneself aware'.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Spain, enterarse, informarse and averiguar are all common choices for expressing 'to find out'.
How does it change in a sentence?
When the information being discovered is a noun or a noun phrase, enterarse is almost always followed by the preposition de. When the information being discovered is a clause (starting with 'that'), you use enterarse de que instead of just enterarse que.
How do you pronounce it?
/enteɾaɾse/
When do people say it?
¡No me digas! is an informal expression used to show surprise or disbelief upon finding out information, which translates to 'You don't say!' or 'You're kidding!'
Did you know?
- The word enterarse shares a root with entero, meaning 'whole' or 'entire'. The logic is that you only truly 'find out' something when you have the whole story, not just a fragment.
- In some contexts, enterarse can be used sarcastically to mean 'to finally get the hint' or 'to wake up to reality'. It describes the moment someone finally understands a situation that was obvious to everyone else.
- In formal Spanish, the non-reflexive version enterar is rarely used today except in very specific legal or administrative contexts to mean 'to notify' someone officially.
Examples in context
- La mayoría se sorprende al enterarse que la guardia de la prisión es una mujer.It surprises most people to find out that the prison warden is a woman.This sentence is useful for showing how to use enterarse to express finding out a piece of information.Tatoeba #1305411 by marcelostockle, translation #764177 by darinmex
- El equipo de investigación descubrió la verdad.The research team found out the truth.
- La compañía está averiguando las causas de la disminución de ventas.The company is finding out the causes of the sales decrease.
- Necesito informarme sobre las leyes locales.I need to find out about the local laws.
- Me enteré de la noticia ayer.I found out about the news yesterday.
- ¡Descubrí su secreto!I found out their secret!
- Supe que ganamos el premio esta mañana.I found out we won the prize this morning.
- Me enteré de la noticia por la televisión.I found out the news through the television.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry enterarse, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
