45 Ways to Say ‘To Take’ in Spanish (Plus Common Idioms)
There are a mind-blowing amount of ways to say “to take” in Spanish!
It’s one of those English words that we use for just about everything. No matter what type of “to take” in Spanish you need, this post will help you find the proper translation!
‘To Take’ in Spanish
We’re going to go over all the ways to say “to take” in Spanish along with each of its different meanings. It’s a long list for just one verb, but with these easy examples and straightforward English definitions, the learning won’t take long at all!
1. To get possession of – tomar
Tomó el libro y fue a la biblioteca.
He took the book and went to the library.
2. To travel by — coger, tomar, ir en
Tomemos un taxi.
Let’s take a taxi.
Coge el autobús número 15.
Take bus number 15.
3. To snatch (from someone) — arrebatar
El ladrón trató de arrebatarle la cartera a María.
The thief tried to take Maria’s purse.
4. To remove, to pick — coger
Cogió la manzana más grande del árbol.
He took the largest apple from the tree.
5. To hold — coger
Coge bien el cuchillo o te cortarás.
Hold the knife properly or you will cut yourself.
6. To transport a thing or person – llevar
Lleva los platos sucios a la cocina.
Take the dirty plates to the kitchen.
7. To require — necesitar, requerir, llevar
Necesita mucho coraje.
It takes a lot of courage.
8. To require or wear a certain size/type of clothing — calzar (for shoes), usar (for clothing)
En verano se vuelven a usar los pantalones cortos y las faldas.
In summer, they take to shorts and skirts again.
Yo calzo una talla 9.
I take a size 9.
9. To last, to use time — durar
La película dura dos horas aproximadamente.
The film takes approximately two hours.
10. To study — estudiar
Estudio psicología.
I’m taking psychology.
11. To chase, to go after — perseguir
La policía persiguió al criminal.
The police took after the criminal.
12. To resemble — parecerse
Cassandra se parece a su abuela.
Cassandra takes after her grandmother.
13. To take apart — desmontar
Desmontó el carro.
She took the car apart.
14. To take away, to take from, to take off — quitar
Le quité la carta que le había escrito.
I took the letter I had written away from him.
15. To take away, to take off — sustraer, restar
El mesero sustrajo nuestros platos vacíos.
The waiter took away our empty plates.
16. To take back — devolver
Devolvieron al prisionero a la cárcel tras haberse escapado.
The prisoner was taken back to prison after having escaped.
17. To take cover — esconderse, ocultarse
Se escondió de la policía.
She took cover from the police.
18. To take down (to dismantle) — desmontar
El fontanero desmontó la cisterna.
The plumber dismantled the toilet tank.
19. To take an exam or test — presentar un examen
Muchos estudiantes se estresan cuando tienen que presentar un examen.
Many students get stressed when they have to take an exam.
20. To take down, to take notes — anotar, escribir, tomar apuntes
Anoté las cosas más importantes que se mencionaron en la junta.
I took notes of the most important things mentioned at the meeting.
21. To take (someone) for — tomar por
¿Me tomas por tonto?
Do you take me for a fool?
22. To take in (to trick) — engañar
El farsante me engañó.
The liar tricked me.
23. To take in (to understand) — comprender
No pudo comprender la información.
He couldn’t take in the information.
24. To take in (to include) — incluir, abarcar
El parque incluye dos lagos.
The park takes in two lakes.
25. To take in (to provide lodging for) — acoger
Acogimos un gatito callejero la semana pasada.
We took in a stray cat last week.
26. To take off (to go away) — irse
Se fue como un murciélago.
He took off like a bat.
27. To take off weight — adelgazar
Estoy tratando de adelgazar.
I’m trying to lose weight.
28. To take out (to remove) — sacar
Sacan la basura cinco veces al día en el restaurante.
They take out the trash five times a day at the restaurant.
29. To take over (to assume operations) — absorber, adquirir, apoderarse
El rey se apoderó de todas sus propiedades.
The king took over all of their property.
30. To take a picture — tomar una foto, hacer una foto
Tomé una foto maravillosa de las montañas.
I took a wonderful picture of the mountains.
31. To take prisoner — capturar
El policía capturó al ladrón.
The policeman took the thief prisoner.
32. To take up (to begin) — dedicarse a
Se dedicó a nadar.
She took up swimming.
33. To take a walk — dar un paseo
Vamos a dar un paseo después de cenar.
Let’s take a walk after dinner.
34. To take on (to accept or assume responsibility) — aceptar, asumir
No puedo aceptar la responsabilidad.
I can’t accept the responsibility.
35. To take on (to employ) — emplear, coger
Empleamos tres trabajadores nuevos.
We took on three new workers.
36. To take out (on a date) — salir con
Carlos salió con Jasmin anoche.
Carlos took Jasmin out last night.
37. To take care of (responsibilities) — encargarse de, ocuparse de
¿Te puedes encargar de preparar la sala para nuestra reunión?
Can you take care of preparing the room for our meeting?
Debes ocuparte de esa infracción antes de tener más problemas.
You need to take care of that ticket before you have more trouble.
38. To take care of (a person) — cuidar de
El médico decidió que mi abuelo ya no podía cuidar de sí mismo.
The doctor decided my grandfather was no longer able to take care of himself.
39. To take in (grasp) — tomar conciencia de
Miró a su alrededor y, por primera vez, empezó a tomar conciencia de lo que la rodeaba.
She looked around and for the first time began to take in her surroundings.
40. To take pity on — compadecerse de
Fuiste muy amable al compadecerte de mí.
You were very kind to take pity on me.
How to Recreate English Idioms that Use ‘to Take’ in Spanish
English is full of interesting (and sometimes goofy) idioms!
An idiom is a commonly used expression whose meaning does not relate to the literal meaning of its words. For example, when I say I’m going to “take a bath,” I don’t actually mean I’m going to carry the tub with me!
Silly phrases like these develop over time. Language is fluid and always changing! This makes it full of quirky creations like idioms.
Let’s take a look at some below.
1. To take a bath or shower — bañarse, ducharse
Necesito bañarme
I need to take a bath.
Debería ducharse después del trabajo.
He should shower after work.
2. To take one’s word for it — creer
Voy a creerte.
I’m going to take your word for it.
3. To take a break, to take a rest — tomarse un descanso
El deportista tiene planeado tomarse un descanso una vez que acabe el torneo.
The athlete plans to take a break once the tournament is over.
4. To take it out on someone — desquitarse con alguien
No es justo que te desquites conmigo.
It’s not fair for you to take it out on me.
5. Take a look — mirar, ojear
Cuando empezó a nevar, los niños corrieron a la ventana a mirar.
When it started to snow, the children all ran to the window to take a look.
Ojea este libro, por favor.
Take a look at this book, please.
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