Spanish word

tratar

Pronunciation

IPA/tɾaˈtaɾ/

Meaning

  • verbtry

Example

Ella trata de aprender otro idioma cada día.

She tries to learn another language every day.

Illustration for tratar (try)

More examples

¿Puedes tratar de venir mañana?

Can you attempt to come tomorrow?

Core concept

Trying different ways to solve a problem.

Common phrases

  • tratar de

    attempt to

Similar words

intentar: Makes a deliberate attempt to perform a specific action to succeed.
probar: Tests a method or item to see whether it works.
ensayar: Practices or rehearses an action to check and improve performance.

Definition in Spanish

Intentar realizar una acción; suele expresarse con la construcción «tratar de + infinitivo».

Word origin

Derived from Latin tractare, a frequentative of trahere ('to pull, to handle'), whose 'handle/deal with' meaning extended in Spanish to include attempts and efforts.

Usage tips

  • English 'treat' is a frequent false friend: Spanish uses tratar a alguien for treating a person, whereas attempts are expressed with the de + infinitive construction rather than a direct object.

Other meanings

  • deal withverb
  • treatverb

Opposites

Related words

Word lists with this word