Why Cuidar Is More Than "To Take Care"
Cuidar is the verb of care: caring for people, watching your health, and being careful. Its reflexive cuidarse gives you the warm goodbye cuídate, and the noun cuidado gives you the warnings you hear all day. It is regular and very frequent.
Learn these six patterns as whole chunks and you will say goodbye, warn, and look after people without translating word by word.
Pattern 1: Cuídate — "Take care of yourself"
The friendly goodbye. Use cuídate for tú, cuídese for usted, and add mucho for warmth. It also sounds natural after hearing someone is ill or traveling. For more on the reflexive pattern, see Reflexive Verbs Chunks.
- Cuídate mucho. — Take good care of yourself.
- Cuídese, señor. — Take care, sir.
- Cuídense y nos vemos pronto. — Take care, you all, and see you soon.
Chunk to learn:
Cuídate (mucho) / Cuídese / Cuídense
Pattern 2: Cuidar a… — "To look after…"
When the object is a person or an animal, Spanish adds the personal a. You can also use cuidar de with the same meaning, and the two are interchangeable in most places.
- Cuido a mi abuela. — I look after my grandmother.
- Ella cuida de sus hermanos. — She takes care of her siblings.
- Tengo que cuidar al bebé. — I have to look after the baby.
Chunk to learn:
Cuidar a + [person] / Cuidar de + [person]
Pattern 3: Cuidar la salud — "To look after your health"
For things, cuidar has no a. It covers health, diet, the planet, and your words. It is a favorite of advice and campaigns.
- Hay que cuidar la salud. — You have to look after your health.
- Cuido mucho lo que como. — I'm very careful about what I eat.
- Cuida tus palabras. — Watch your words.
Chunk to learn:
Cuidar + [la salud / la dieta / el medio ambiente]
Pattern 4: Ten cuidado — "Be careful"
With the noun cuidado, Spanish uses tener for being careful. Use ten cuidado for tú and tenga cuidado for usted. It is a warm warning rather than a rebuke.
- Ten cuidado al cruzar. — Be careful crossing.
- Tenga cuidado, el suelo está mojado. — Be careful, the floor is wet.
- Ten mucho cuidado, ¿vale? — Be very careful, okay?
Chunk to learn:
Ten cuidado (al + infinitive) / Tenga cuidado
Pattern 5: ¡Cuidado con…! — "Watch out for…"
A short alert, shouted or written on signs. Cuidado con names the danger: a step, a dog, a person. For another way to warn someone, see [Ayudar] Chunks.
- ¡Cuidado con el escalón! — Watch the step!
- Cuidado con el perro. — Beware of the dog.
- Cuidado con lo que dices. — Be careful what you say.
Chunk to learn:
¡Cuidado con + [thing]! / Cuidado con lo que dices
Pattern 6: ¿Me cuidas…? — "Can you watch… for me?"
In Latin America, cuidar also means to babysit or to watch something for a moment. With an indirect pronoun, you ask a favor. For more with attached pronouns, see Object Pronouns Chunks.
- ¿Me cuidas al perro este fin de semana? — Can you watch my dog this weekend?
- ¿Me cuidas la mochila un momento? — Can you watch my backpack for a moment?
- Mis padres me cuidan a los niños. — My parents look after my kids for me.
Chunk to learn:
¿Me cuidas + [al perro / la mochila / a los niños]?
Cuidar vs. Cuidarse
Cuidar looks after something else: Cuido a mi madre. Cuidarse looks after yourself: Me cuido. Use the noun cuidado with tener when you only mean "be careful". For another verb of everyday movement, see [Entrar] Chunks.
Start with cuídate and ten cuidado. You will use both the next time you speak Spanish.
This post is part of the Spanish Chunk Series — a growing collection of chunk patterns for natural Spanish.