ganar
transitive verb
1 [+sueldo] to earn
¿cuánto ganas al mes? how much do you earn o make a month?; ha ganado mucho dinero she has made a lot of money
2 [+competición, partido, premio, guerra] to win
le ganó cien euros a Rosa he won a hundred euros from Rosa; ¿quién ganó la carrera? who won the race?; si te toca puedes ganar un millón if you win you could get a million; ganar unas oposiciones para un puesto to obtain a post by public examination
3 [+contrincante] to beat
¡les ganamos! we beat them!; ganamos al Olimpic tres a cero we beat Olimpic three-nil; no hay quien le gane there's nobody who can beat him; he's unbeatable; como orador no hay quien le gane o no le gana nadie as a speaker there is no one to touch him; no one outdoes him at speaking
4 (conseguir) [+tiempo, peso, terreno] to gain
¿qué gano yo con todo esto? what do I gain o get from all this?; con eso no ganas nada that won't get you anywhere; tierras ganadas al mar land reclaimed o won from the sea
ganar popularidad to win o earn popularity
5 (alcanzar) [+objetivo] to achieve; attain
ganar la orilla to reach the shore; ganar la orilla nadando to swim to the shore
intransitive verb
1 (trabajando) to earn
no gano para comprar un piso I don't earn enough to buy a flat
no ganamos para sustos we have nothing but trouble
2 (en competición, guerra) to win
ganaron por cuatro a dos they won four-two; ganaron por 40 votos they won by 40 votes
lo importante no es ganar winning isn't the most important thing; nuestras ideas terminaron ganando our ideas won out in the end
dejarse ganar (con trampas) to lose on purpose
se deja ganar por el niño he lets the kid beat him
3 (mejorar) to benefit; improve
la película ganaría mucho si se cortase the film would greatly benefit from being cut; the film would be greatly improved if it was cut
hemos ganado con el cambio we've greatly benefited from the change
ha ganado mucho en salud his health has greatly improved
su juego ha ganado en confianza her play has become more confident
salir ganando to do well
saldrás ganando you'll do well out of it; salí ganando con la venta del coche I did well out of the sale of the car
pronominal verb
ganarse1 [+afecto, confianza] to win
ha sabido ganarse el afecto de todos she has managed to win everyone's affection; ganarse la confianza de algn to win sb's trust; ganarse las antipatías de algn to make oneself unpopular with sb
2 [+sueldo] to earn
ganarse la vida to earn a living; se lo ha ganado he has earned it o deserves it; se ganó a pulso el título de campeón he became champion the hard way
¡te la vas a ganar! you're for it! (familiar)