C2 · 50 words
Movement in Spanish
How something moves — not only that it moves.
Practise this list
From these 50 words, as many per round as you like — up to all of them: first what is due today, then new ones. First you choose, then you fill the gap, then you write it yourself. Mistakes come back again shortly.
More about this list
For movement Spanish has many verbs where other languages have one verb and a pile of prefixes. Where one would say « go up », this list puts ascender, trepar and encaramarse side by side, and each says something different about how it was done. The verb to carry away is patinar, in patinar sobre el suelo. English needs three verbs for it. On ice it is « to skate » — los patines are the skates. On a wet road it is « to skid », which is what a wheel does when it turns without gripping. And in conversation it is « to slip up »: ahí patiné admits that one got something wrong. The picture is the same in all three — something moving without purchase — and only Spanish keeps it in one word.
The words
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Verb (19)
deslizarseto glideVerbC2
La barca se desliza sin ruido junto a la orilla.The boat glides noiselessly along the bank.
escurrirseto slip awayVerbC2
El pez se escurrió entre los dedos.The fish slipped away between the fingers.
treparto climbVerbC2
La hiedra trepa por el muro norte.The ivy climbs up the north wall.
encaramarseto clamber upVerbC2
Se encaramó al muro para ver mejor.They clambered up the wall to see better.
precipitarseto plungeVerbC2
El agua se precipita desde veinte metros.The water plunges from twenty metres.
tambalearseto swayVerbC2
La torre se tambalea con el viento fuerte.The tower sways in a strong wind.
bambolearseto swing back and forthVerbC2
La lámpara se bambolea sobre la mesa.The lamp swings back and forth over the table.
oscilarto oscillateVerbC2
La aguja oscila antes de detenerse.The needle oscillates before it settles.
vibrarto vibrateVerbC2
El cristal vibra cuando pasa el camión.The glass vibrates when the lorry goes past.
estremecerseto shudderVerbC2
El puente se estremece al paso del tren.The bridge shudders as the train crosses.
sacudirseto shake itselfVerbC2
El perro se sacude al salir del agua.The dog shakes itself as it comes out of the water.
serpentearto windVerbC2
El sendero serpentea entre las rocas.The path winds between the rocks.
zigzaguearto zigzagVerbC2
El ciclista zigzaguea para esquivar los baches.The cyclist zigzags to dodge the potholes.
replegarseto fold backVerbC2
El toldo se repliega solo con viento.The awning folds back by itself in a wind.
desplegarseto unfoldVerbC2
El paracaídas se despliega en dos segundos.The parachute unfolds in two seconds.
propagarseto travel outwardsVerbC2
La onda se propaga más rápido en el acero.The wave travels outwards faster in steel.
dispersarseto scatterVerbC2
El grupo se dispersa al llegar al parque.The group scatters on reaching the park.
convergerto convergeVerbC2
Los dos caminos convergen tras la curva.The two paths converge after the bend.
esquivarto dodgeVerbC2
Esquivó el charco sin mirar.They dodged the puddle without looking.
Phrase (27)
patinar sobre el sueloto skid over the floorPhraseC2
La silla patina sobre el suelo recién encerado.The chair skids over the newly waxed floor.
ascender lentamenteto rise slowlyPhraseC2
El globo asciende lentamente sobre el valle.The balloon rises slowly over the valley.
descender en picadoto come down in a divePhraseC2
El halcón desciende en picado sobre el campo.The falcon comes down in a dive over the field.
a trompiconesin fits and startsPhraseC2
El motor arranca a trompicones en frío.The engine starts in fits and starts when it is cold.
a paso ligeroat a brisk pacePhraseC2
Cruzaron la plaza a paso ligero.They crossed the square at a brisk pace.
a paso de tortugaat a snail's pacePhraseC2
La cola avanza a paso de tortuga.The queue moves forward at a snail's pace.
el ritmo constantethe steady pacePhraseC2
El ritmo constante cansa menos que los arrancones.A steady pace is less tiring than sudden bursts.
acelerar de golpeto accelerate all at oncePhraseC2
No conviene acelerar de golpe en mojado.It is unwise to accelerate all at once on a wet road.
frenar en secoto brake sharplyPhraseC2
Frenó en seco al ver la señal.They braked sharply on seeing the sign.
el desplazamiento lateralthe sideways movementPhraseC2
El desplazamiento lateral del viento mueve la grúa.The sideways movement of the wind shifts the crane.
el avance a tientasthe groping advancePhraseC2
El avance a tientas por el túnel duró una hora.The groping advance through the tunnel lasted an hour.
desviarse del cursoto drift off coursePhraseC2
La corriente hizo desviarse del curso a la balsa.The current made the raft drift off course.
girar sobre su ejeto turn on its own axisPhraseC2
La plataforma gira sobre su eje cada media hora.The platform turns on its own axis every half hour.
la rotación pausadathe unhurried rotationPhraseC2
La rotación pausada de la noria dura cuatro minutos.The unhurried rotation of the wheel takes four minutes.
el flujo continuothe unbroken streamPhraseC2
El flujo continuo de gente no se detiene hasta la noche.The unbroken stream of people does not stop until night.
el acarreo de la corrientethe load the current carriesPhraseC2
El acarreo de la corriente mueve la arena.The load the current carries moves the sand.
el impulso inicialthe initial pushPhraseC2
El impulso inicial basta para toda la bajada.The initial push is enough for the whole descent.
la inercia del movimientothe inertia of the movementPhraseC2
La inercia del movimiento lleva el carro tres metros más.The inertia of the movement carries the cart three metres further.
detenerse en secoto stop deadPhraseC2
Se detuvo en seco al oír su nombre.They stopped dead on hearing their name.
quedarse a medio caminoto get stuck halfwayPhraseC2
El ascensor se quedó a medio camino.The lift got stuck halfway.
sortear el obstáculoto get round the obstaclePhraseC2
Hay que sortear el obstáculo por la izquierda.The obstacle has to be got round on the left.
abrirse pasoto make one's way throughPhraseC2
Se abrió paso entre la multitud.They made their way through the crowd.
el andar cansinothe trudging walkPhraseC2
Se le reconoce por el andar cansino.They are known by their trudging walk.
la zancada largathe long stridePhraseC2
La zancada larga le ahorra veinte pasos.The long stride saves them twenty paces.
el paso vacilantethe hesitant stepPhraseC2
El paso vacilante delata el hielo bajo la nieve.The hesitant step gives away the ice under the snow.
a contracorrienteagainst the currentPhraseC2
Nadó a contracorriente durante diez minutos.They swam against the current for ten minutes.
el movimiento pendularthe pendulum movementPhraseC2
El movimiento pendular del brazo marca el compás.The pendulum movement of the arm beats the time.
Noun (m) (3)
el tirónthe jerkNoun (m)C2
El tren arrancó con un tirón.The train started with a jerk.
el retrocesothe recoilNoun (m)C2
El retroceso de la máquina sorprende al principio.The recoil of the machine is a surprise at first.
el remolinothe eddyNoun (m)C2
Un remolino se forma detrás del pilar.An eddy forms behind the pillar.
Noun (f) (1)
la derivathe driftNoun (f)C2
La deriva llevó la boya media milla.The drift carried the buoy half a mile.
This list belongs to Basic words: numbers, time, verbs — 21 lists and 1 073 words that can also be practised as a whole.