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"Fiarse de" is a pronominal verb phrase which is often translated as "to trust", and "confiar" is a transitive verb which is often translated as "to confide". Learn more about the difference between "fiarse de" and "confiar" below.
fiarse de(
fyahr
-
seh
deh
)A pronominal verb phrase combines a verb with a preposition or other particle and always uses a reflexive pronoun. (e.g., Se dio cuenta del problema.)
1. (general)
a. to trust
Me fío de ella porque es una persona muy sincera y compasiva.I trust her because she's a very sincere and compasionate person.
b. to believe
Nadie se fía ya de lo que promete el gobierno.No one believes any more what the government promises.
c. to go by (appearances)
Parecen buenas personas, pero, cuando hay tanto dinero de por medio, mejor no fiarse de las apariencias.They seem nice people, but when there's so much money involved, it's best not to go by appearances.
d. no direct translation
This refers to an idiomatic word or phrase for which there is no word-for-word translation.
No me fío de que Ramón vaya a ayudarnos. Muchas veces dice cosas que luego no hace.I don't trust Ramon to help us. He often says things that he then doesn't do.
Por mucho que diga la tele, no me fío de que vaya a cambiar el tiempo. Esas nubes están muy negras.Whatever the TV says, I don't believe the weather will change. Those clouds are very black.
confiar(
kohm
-
fyahr
)A transitive verb is a verb that requires a direct object (e.g., I bought a book.).
1. (to tell)
a. to entrust with
Le confiaron la dirección de la compañía.They entrusted him with the management of the company.
b. to put in charge of
Estamos buscando a una empresa en quien confiar la realización del proyecto.We're looking for a company to put in charge of the project.
c. to trust
Muchos jubilados cometieron el error de confiar sus ahorros a esa empresa que ayer quebró.Many pensioners made the mistake of trusting their savings to that company that went under yesterday.
An intransitive verb is one that does not require a direct object (e.g., The man sneezed.).
b. to be confident
Confío en que van a hacer bien el trabajo.I'm confident that they'll do the job well.
confiarse
A pronominal verb always uses a reflexive pronoun. (e.g., Te ves cansado.).
a. to be overconfident
No te confíes; este es el primer examen y quedan dos más por aprobar.Don't be overconfident; this is the first exam and there are two more to go.
b. to be too sure of oneself
Andrea tiene posibilidades de ganar, pero no debería confiarse demasiado.Andrea has chances of winning, but she shouldn't be too sure of herself.
