Learn to spell!

Question

How does one translate the verb "to spell"?

Here is the sentence, however impolite: "Learn to spell! Your misspelling is driving me crazy!"

I know that "misspelling" is "falta de ortografía," but the verb "to spell" in the first sentence of the example is a mystery to me.

Answer 1

I have to disagree.

Deletrear is not to write correctly.

Deletrear means to say "ese, pe, e, ele, ele"

The proper translation is:

¡Aprende a escribir! ¡Tus faltas de ortografía me están volviendo loco!

• Very wierd! SD dictionary says it means to write correctly, thank you for correcting me cogumela :) - lovely_lovel Oct 24, 2011
• Lovely, I reported this dictionary error. - --Mariana-- Oct 24, 2011
• Oh great! - lovely_lovel Oct 24, 2011

Answer 2

Hi!

l think the verb you're looking for is deletrear (write correctly)

• I know the verb deletrear but it doesn't make sense to me when falta de ortografía means misspelling. - ocbizlaw Oct 24, 2011
• I thought it was "deletrear" too, Lovely. I'll report this dictionary error. - --Mariana-- Oct 24, 2011

Answer 3

According to Collins dictionary, which Lazarus once told me is an extremely reliable resource, both deletrear and escribir translate as "to spell". Plus the fact context is also important as there may be instances where you do not use either verb.

How do you spell your name? - ¿Cómo se escibe tu nombre?

Can you spell that please? - ¿Me lo deletrea por favor?

What do these letters spell? - ¿Qué palabra se forma con estas letras?

Answer 4

This may be it: http://www.spanishdict.com/translate/deletrear

Answer 5

I'm not sure it's a dictionary error. There's no problem with the entry for deletrear.

There may arise confusion reading the entry for Spell. In the secton for its use as a transitive verb,

1. deletrear (write correctly)

* how do you spell it? -> ¿cómo se escribe?

This format does not mean that Spell translates to deletrear - it means that Spell (in the sense related to "deletrear") translates to the usage shown in the example sentence, ¿cómo se escribe?

I don't see any errors in need of correction.

• If you look up "spell" it says "deletrear (write correctly)" so there is an error there. - --Mariana-- Oct 24, 2011

Answer 6

The verb for spell and write are the same word? escribir= to write/ to spell

Answer 7

You certainly would think spelling in Spanish would be easier but I wish I had a nickel for every misspelled word I see in emails I receive from Spanish speakers! I got one this morning: "¿Qué estás asiendo?" She wasn't asking what I was grabbing onto but what I was doing (haciendo), which prompted my question in the original post: "Learn to spell! Your misspelling is driving me crazy!"

• :) funny - ian-hill Oct 24, 2011

Answer 8

In my dictionary-

¿Cómo se deletrea? - How do you spell it? (How is it spelt?)

Answer 9

The word "deletrear" translate ONLY, to spell. misspelling means, mal escrito. It is not common in Spanish to spell word because Spanish is written just the way it sounds. Spelling is needed when we are talking about names, places or words that are not in Spanish. If you want to say, how do you spell your name, the word spell never appears in Spanish. It will be replaced with the verb "escribir" that translate to English as "to write". DO NOT translate from one language to another too literally.