How to Say "To Kill" in Spanish

matar

/maˈtaɾ/

The Spanish phrase for to kill is matar.

Matar means to cause the death of a living being.

Is it said differently in some regions?

In Mexico, the vulgar and highly informal verb chingar is sometimes used to mean to kill.

Matar is a regular -ar verb.

/maˈtaɾ/

The English word 'checkmate' likely shares a distant root with matar via the Arabic word māta, meaning 'to die'.
In some contexts, matar is used to describe the act of turning off a light or stopping a machine, similar to the English phrase 'kill the engine'.

¡Te voy a matar!
I am going to kill you!
This sentence uses matar to express a direct threat.
Tatoeba #1408546 by marcelostockle, translation #1135036 by shekitten
Fadil va a matarme.
Fadil is going to kill me.
This sentence uses matar to describe an action happening to the speaker.
Tatoeba #7848824 by Seael, translation #5839297 by OsoHombre
He venido a matarte.
I have come to kill you.
This sentence uses matar to describe a person's purpose for arriving.
Tatoeba #1546369 by marcelostockle, translation #1340382 by CM
El general ordenó matar al enemigo
The general ordered to kill the enemy
La plaga aniquiló la cosecha completa
The plague wiped out the entire harvest
El tribunal decidió ejecutar al criminal
The court decided to execute the criminal
El detective logró eliminar al líder de la banda
The detective managed to kill the gang leader
Finalmente, decidieron pegarle un tiro al perro rabioso
Finally, they decided to shoot the rabid dog
Voy a eliminar a ese tipo si se atreve a tocarme
I'm going to kill that guy if he dares to touch me
155 more sentences on Tatoeba

Lucía and Javier are talking about a pest problem in the garden.

Lucía

Tengo que matar los caracoles del jardín.
I have to kill the snails in the garden.
Javier

¿No hay una forma más natural de hacerlo?
Isn't there a more natural way to do it?
Lucía

Lo intenté, pero el veneno es lo único que puede matar estas plagas.
I tried, but poison is the only thing that can kill these pests.
Javier

Está bien, yo te ayudo con eso.
All right, I will help you with that.

Sources

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