How to say "time-out"?

Question

Hello, I have friend who has a toddler and he asked me how to say "I will put you in time-out". Any suggestions? Thanks.

Answer 1

poner en penitencia.

do you put him in time-out because, for instance, his behaviour must be corrected? Then, poner en penitencia is the expression. It´s calculated one minute per year. 5 years old = 5 minutes time-out.

Answer 2

I would say:

Te pondré en espera... or Te pondré pausa... / I will put you in time-out

Time out (Noun)

1. a pause from doing something (as work); "we took a 10-minute break"; "he took time out to recuperate"

(Synonym) respite, recess, break

Certainly, this is not a common expression in Spanish, but it could be used as slang... - Carlos-F, Jan 13, 2010

Answer 3

Hi I have toddler, and we only speak Spanish at home, so the best way to translate is to say "Te voy a castigar, " or "te voy a poner en la esquina" which is acutally "I´m going to punish you, " or "I´m going to put you in the corner," respectively, because the term "time out" doesnt actually exist in Spanish in the same way when it comes to a toddler.

´te voy a castigar´ works great! But you have other ways to punish (castigar), like ´no icecream for 1 month´. And that´s not a time-out. - mediterrunio, Jan 13, 2010