abrir la puerta
/abɾiɾ la pweɾta/from spelling rules
In Spanish, "unlock the door" is translated as abrir la puerta.
The phrase is used to describe the action of opening a door that was closed. While English distinguishes between 'opening' a door and 'unlocking' it, the Spanish phrase abrir la puerta is commonly used for both actions.
Which one should you use?
You may also encounter Desbloquee la puerta or Desbloquea la puerta.
How do you pronounce it?
/abɾiɾ la pweɾta/
Did you know?
- The Spanish word abrir shares a distant ancestor with the rare English word 'apricate', which means to bask in the sun.
- If you use desbloquear for a physical door, you may sound like a robot or a technical manual.
- The verb abrir is used for actions that English describes with different words, such as 'opening' a bank account or 'opening' an umbrella.
Examples in context
- Disculpe, ¿podría desbloquear la puerta por favor?Excuse me, could you please unlock the door for me?
Example conversation
Sofía and Javier are standing outside their house.
- SofíaJavier, ¿tienes la llave?Javier, do you have the key?
- JavierSí, yo puedo abrir la puerta.Yes, I can unlock the door.
- SofíaGracias, Sofía está cansada.Thanks, Sofía is tired.
- JavierYa está, pasemos adentro.It's open, let's go inside.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries abrir, la, puerta, CC BY-SA 4.0.
