Why Cortar Is More Than "To Cut"
Cortar is the everyday verb for cutting, and it is regular. But Spanish uses it for much more than knives and scissors: haircuts, power outages, dropped calls, shyness and drastic decisions all come from the same verb.
Learn the six chunks below and you will use it for kitchen talk, getting your hair done and telling a friend not to hold back.
Pattern 1: Cortar algo — "To cut something"
The basic meaning, for food, paper, wood, anything you cut with a tool. With se, it is how you say you cut yourself by accident: me corté el dedo.
- Corta la cebolla en trozos pequeños. — Cut the onion into small pieces.
- Me corté el dedo con el cuchillo. — I cut my finger with the knife.
- ¿Puedes cortar el pan, por favor? — Can you cut the bread, please?
Chunk to learn:
Cortar + [algo] / Cortarse + [el dedo / la mano]
Pattern 2: Cortarse el pelo — "To get a haircut"
Spanish uses the reflexive even when someone else cuts your hair, because the hair is yours. It works the same way for nails. For more on reflexive verbs, see Reflexive Verbs Chunks.
- Me corté el pelo ayer. — I got a haircut yesterday.
- Quiero cortarme el pelo. — I want to get a haircut.
- ¿Dónde te cortas el pelo? — Where do you get your hair cut?
Chunk to learn:
Cortarse + [el pelo / las uñas]
Pattern 3: Se cortó la luz — "The power went out"
Use se cortó when a service stops: electricity, water, a call, the internet. With a person who cuts it off, use the active form: nos cortaron el agua. In Argentina, cortar also means to hang up the phone. For calls, see [Llamar] Chunks.
- Se cortó la luz. — The power went out.
- Se cortó la llamada. — The call got cut off.
- Nos cortaron el agua por no pagar. — They cut off our water for not paying.
Chunk to learn:
Se cortó + [la luz / el agua / la llamada]
Pattern 4: ¡No te cortes! — "Don't hold back!"
Very common in Spain among friends: it means "don't be shy, go ahead." Cortarse on its own means to freeze up or get embarrassed. For the more formal courage verb, see [Atreverse] Chunks.
- No te cortes, sírvete más. — Don't be shy, help yourself to more.
- Me corté y no dije nada. — I froze up and said nothing.
- Se cortó delante de todos. — He got embarrassed in front of everyone.
Chunk to learn:
No te cortes / Cortarse (= quedarse cortado)
Pattern 5: Cortar el rollo — "To kill the mood"
A colloquial chunk, especially in Spain, for ruining a pleasant moment or interrupting something. Rollo is the vibe or story. For something that merely annoys, see [Molestar] Chunks.
- No cortes el rollo. — Don't kill the vibe.
- Su llamada me cortó el rollo. — His call killed my mood.
- Cortó el rollo con ese comentario. — She killed the mood with that comment.
Chunk to learn:
Cortar el rollo / Me cortó el rollo
Pattern 6: Cortar por lo sano — "To take drastic action"
Use it for ending a problem with a decisive step, even when it hurts. The image is cutting off the healthy part to stop the infection, and it is common in everyday talk. For ending things, see [Terminar] Chunks.
- Hay que cortar por lo sano. — We have to take drastic action.
- Cortó por lo sano y dejó el trabajo. — He made a clean break and quit his job.
- Si no funciona, cortamos por lo sano. — If it doesn't work, we'll make a clean cut.
Chunk to learn:
Cortar por lo sano
Cortar vs. Romper vs. Partir
Cortar is cutting with a tool. Romper is breaking or tearing; see [Romper] Chunks. Partir splits something in two or in parts: parte la manzana. For a breakup, you will hear cortar con alguien as a colloquial alternative to romper con alguien.
Start with me voy a cortar el pelo and no te cortes. You will use both within a week of living with Spanish speakers.
This post is part of the Spanish Chunk Series — a growing collection of chunk patterns for natural Spanish.