se despierta
/se despjeɾta/from spelling rules
In Spanish, 'wakes up' is translated as se despierta.
The phrase is used to describe the act of stopping sleep and becoming awake.
Which one should you use?
It is important to distinguish between the reflexive and non-reflexive forms. Using se despierta means 'he/she wakes up' (himself/herself), whereas the non-reflexive despierta means 'he/she wakes (someone else) up'.
How does it change in a sentence?
The form se despierta is the third-person singular present indicative of the reflexive verb despertarse, meaning 'he/she/it wakes up'. To say 'I wake up', use the first-person singular form me despierto. To say 'they wake up', use the plural form se despiertan.
How do you pronounce it?
/se despjeɾta/
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often mistakenly omit the reflexive pronoun se when they mean the subject is waking themselves up.
Did you know?
- In Spanish, the word despierto can be used as an adjective to mean 'alert' or 'clever'. Someone who is described as despierto is not just awake, but mentally sharp.
- Spanish distinguishes between waking up, despertarse, and actually getting out of bed, levantarse. A person can despertarse at 6:00 AM but not levantarse until 7:00 AM.
- The reflexive pronoun se in se despierta is actually a linguistic survivor from a process where the original Latin word for 'to him' was reanalyzed by speakers.
Examples in context
- Tom se despierta temprano casi todas las mañanas.Tom wakes up early almost every morning.This sentence shows how to use se despierta to describe a morning routine.Tatoeba #1458468 by marcelostockle, translation #1092578 by CK
- El que con perros se acuesta, con pulgas se despierta.He who sleeps with dogs wakes up with fleas.This sentence uses se despierta within a Spanish proverb.Tatoeba #5823215 by albrusgher, translation #937916 by CK
- Cosquillea su nariz con una pluma mientras ella duerme y ve si se despierta.Tickle her nose with a feather while she's sleeping and see if she wakes up.This sentence uses se despierta to describe testing if someone wakes up.Tatoeba #5887931 by albrusgher, translation #963949 by darinmex
- Él se despierta temprano todas las mañanas.He wakes up early every morning.
- Pablo despierta a su perro todas las mañanas.Pablo wakes up his dog every morning.
- Pablo despierta todas las mañanas.Pablo wakes up every morning.
- Mariana madruga para llegar al trabajo a tiempo.Mariana wakes up early to get to work on time.
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Mateo and Sofía are talking about their baby's morning routine.
- Mateo¿A qué hora se despierta el bebé?What time does the baby wake up?
- SofíaNormalmente se despierta a las seis.He normally wakes up at six.
- Mateo¡Qué temprano se despierta!He wakes up so early!
- SofíaSí, Mateo, es un niño muy madrugador.Yes, Mateo, he is a very early riser.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries se, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
