no lo haría
/no lo aɾia/from spelling rules
In Spanish, the phrase for "wouldn't" is no lo haría.
The phrase is used to describe an action that someone is unlikely or unwilling to perform.
How does it change in a sentence?
The phrase uses the conditional tense to express the "would" aspect of the English expression. While no lo haría means "I wouldn't do it," you can change the subject to the informal "you" by using no lo harías, which means "you wouldn't do it".
How do you pronounce it?
/no lo aɾia/
Did you know?
- In Spain, saying No lo haría is often a strategy to soften a refusal, turning a blunt 'no' into a more polite 'I'd rather not'.
- The word lo in no lo haría can function as a 'neuter pronoun' to refer to an entire abstract idea or a whole situation, rather than just a specific masculine object.
- To emphasize that someone 'wouldn't' do something specifically because of stubbornness, Spanish speakers often switch to the verb negarse a, meaning 'to refuse'.
Examples in context
- No lo haría sin ti.I wouldn't do that without you.Tatoeba #6013121 by solmyrbcn, translation #2541995 by CK
- Yo de ti no lo haría.I wouldn't do that if I were you.Tatoeba #874343 by Shishir, translation #30835 by CK
- Decidí que no lo haría.I decided that I wouldn't do that.Tatoeba #6724625 by arh, translation #6724336 by CK
- Si me lo pidiera, no lo haría.If he asked me, I wouldn't do it.
- No lo haría de ninguna manera. Eso es realmente peligroso.I wouldn't do it by any means. That's really dangerous.
- 22 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Alejandro and María are discussing a risky business deal.
- Alejandro¿Crees que deberíamos arriesgar nuestro dinero?Do you think we should risk our money?
- MaríaEs muy peligroso, yo no lo haría.It's very dangerous, I wouldn't do it.
- AlejandroPero María, es una gran oportunidad.But María, it's a great opportunity.
- MaríaLo siento, Alejandro, pero no lo haría.I'm sorry, Alejandro, but I wouldn't do it.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
