Spanish · Everyday Verbs

"to give" in Spanish: dar

dar

Say it: dahr / doy / meh dahsverb/ˈdaɾ/

To give in Spanish is dar. Say yo doy and ¿Me das…? Dale is a common Latin American okay/go ahead, built from dar.

Shop counter

¿Me das dos panes, por favor?
Can you give me two breads, please?
Practice Spanish out loud

Speak with an AI partner · 7 days free

How to pronounce dar

Say it

dahr / doy / meh dahs

/ˈdaɾ/

dahr. Yo doy is doy (one syllable). ¿Me das? is meh dahs.

"to give" in Spanish: quick reference

SpanishEnglish
darto give

Dictionary form.

yo doyI give

Irregular first person.

¿me das…?can you give me…?

Polite ask in shops.

dalego ahead / okay

Latin American filler from dar.

dar un regaloto give a gift

Common collocation.

How to use dar in real life

  1. 1Shop counter

    ¿Me das dos panes, por favor?

    Can you give me two breads, please?

    ¿Me das…? is everyday.

  2. 2Birthday

    Le doy un libro a mi hermana.

    I give my sister a book.

    Le doy = I give her.

  3. 3Helping a friend

    Te doy mi paraguas. Llueve fuerte.

    I'll give you my umbrella. It's raining hard.

    Te doy = I give you.

Mistakes English speakers make with dar

Incorrect: Yo dar un regalo.

Correct: Yo doy un regalo. / Voy a dar un regalo.

First person is doy, not dar.

Incorrect: Yo doy a ella el libro (clunky).

Correct: Yo le doy el libro. / Yo le doy el libro a ella.

Prefer le doy; a ella is optional for clarity.

Good to know

¿Me das…? is softer than Dame in shops. Dale is huge in Latin America for okay/go ahead—not a literal gift. Regalar also means give as a gift.

Try it in a ChatPal conversation

Passing snacks at a table

  1. ChatPal

    ¿Me das una servilleta?

    Can you give me a napkin?

  2. You

    Claro. Te doy dos por si acaso.

    Sure. I'll give you two just in case.

  3. ChatPal

    Gracias. ¿Me das el agua también?

    Thanks. Can you give me the water too?

  4. You

    Aquí tienes. Está fría.

    Here you go. It's cold.

This is a sample. In ChatPal you have this conversation out loud and get feedback on what you say.

Practice this conversation in ChatPal

"to give" in other languages

FAQ

Common questions about "to give" in Spanish

How do I say I give?

Yo doy.

Can you give me…?

¿Me das…?

What does dale mean?

Often go ahead / okay in Latin America.

How do you pronounce doy?

doy — one syllable, like English doi.

Learn a word, then use it out loud

  1. Step 1: See it in context
  2. Step 2: Say it out loud
  3. Step 3: Get feedback
  4. Step 4: Use it in real scenarios

Keep reading

Ready to say it out loud?

ChatPal is a voice-first app for practicing real conversations in Spanish. Try real scenarios and get personalized feedback on your speaking.

Start with 7 days free.