Despierta VS Despiértate

Question

Do they both just mean wake up when used as a command? The rabbit said to Donnie Darko "Despierta. Donnie" , and Trinity to Neo "Despierta. Neo" seems like Despiértate would work well there, are they both OK there? Gracias.

Answer 1

They are both fine, but "despiértate" sounds as if the person has to put some effort into it, while "despierta" has fewer connotations.

Nice explaination! This is exactly what I was trying to say. Ojo con "less" - singular y "fewer" - plural - 005faa61, Jan 30, 2011

Answer 2

I don't know why , but ¡Despiértate! seems more strict to me. When I see it I imagine something like:

¡Despiértate! ¡Ya! ¡Ya te dije que te despertaras!

Maybe that's because when I watched Pan's Labyrinth, Ofelia told her mother: Mamá.. Despierta... Por favor mamá... (She was afraid..)

Answer 3

Sometimes a "te" is left off for a particular nuance, but the proper way is:

Despiértate ...... Wake up (yourself)

Despierta a los niños ...... Wake up the children