The Royal Spanish Academy's Dictionary of the Spanish Language lists 25 different meanings for the Spanish verb pegar, whose English translations range from "to stick" to "to hit"! Although we won't cover all of them, today's lesson will touch on many of the most common ones, backed by lots of examples from the Yabla Spanish video library. Are you ready?!

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1. To paste, glue, or stick on

The Spanish verb pegar is often used to describe attaching one thing to another. While this could involve some substance like glue or paste, in other cases, it might simply entail "sticking" one thing onto another via another means, like sewing (as in the example pegar un bóton, or "sew on a button"). Let's take a look at a couple more examples:

2. To stick to or burn 

Similarly, the reflexive form of pegar, pegarse, is used to talk about things that "stick to" other things and might even be translated as "to burn" or "stick to the pan" in the context of cooking.

Y queremos que la harina no esté muy seca y no muy mojada para que no se pegue a las manos

And, we want for the flour to not be very dry and not very moist so that it doesn't stick to one's hands

Captions 43-44, Dany Arepas - Part 1

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Bueno, entonces vemos que esto se está empezando a pegar al fondo. 

Well, so we see that this is starting to stick to the bottom.

Caption 1, Cocinando con Miguelito Pollo sudado - Part 2

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3. To hit, beat, strike, or smack 

In contrast to the former meanings, the Spanish verb pegar can also mean to "hit" someone, as in physically striking them:

Ella era muy amorosa, ella nunca... nunca me pegó, ni una palmada ni nada. 

She was very loving. She never... never hit me, not a spank or anything.

Caption 2, La Sub30 Familias - Part 11

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4. To give/strike (with certain nouns)

The verb pegar often appears with specific nouns like tiro (shot), bofetón (slap), patada (kick), etc., to talk about specific types of "striking." For example, you might hear that a soccer player le pegó una patada fuerte a la pelota ("gave the ball a good kick") or that someone le pegó un bofetón ("slapped him" or "gave him a slap"). Let's see an example with un tiro:

5. To strike a spot intensely

The verb pegar in Spanish might be employed to talk about sun, light, or even wind that falls upon (or is particularly frequent in) a particular surface or area:

The verb pegar in Spanish can entail "pulling" something "up" to something else or "moving (it) closer." For example, you might say: "Pegué la cama a la pared" (I pulled up the bed up to the wall). Let's see one more example:

Puedes pegar un poco el brazo hacia ti.

You can bring your arm a bit closer to you.

Caption 21, Bienestar con Elizabeth Activar las articulaciones

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8. To touch 

9. To match

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Slangy Meanings of the Spanish Verb Pegar

In addition to its more traditional uses, the verb pegar can be found in lots of idiomatic expressions and may be used differently in different countries and regions. In the Dominican Republic, for example, it is common to use the Spanish verb pegar to talk about actions that began suddenly, as in the case of "Pegó a correr" (He took off running). In other regions, you might hear expressions like "Me pegó la depresión" (I got depressed) to give us a sense that the speaker was "stricken" by depression, while "Me pegué una siesta" is another way to say "I took a nap." 

While the less textbook meanings of the verb pegar can seem endless, here are a smattering of examples whose meanings feel like logical extensions of some of the more traditional definitions we covered:

Era lo que yo había aprendido y entonces, eh, me pegué con ellos

It was what I had learned and so, um, I hooked up with them

Captions 28-29, Willy Entrevista - Part 2

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hoy le pego a ese duraznito de Amalia Durango, ¿oyó?

today I'll hit it with that peach Amalia Durango, you hear?

Caption 11, Confidencial: El rey de la estafa Capítulo 4 - Part 9

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Yo sólo quiero pegar en la radio 

I just want to catch on on the radio

Caption 1, Bacilos Mi Primer Millón

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Combining Parts of Speech - Part 1

Combining Parts of Speech - Part 2

Combining Parts of Speech - Part 4

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Let's continue studying phrases that combine prepositions, articles, and pronouns, since these are always a source of confusion for many Spanish learners. One of the main functions of this type of phrase is to connect simple sentences to transform them into more complex utterances, thus allowing a speaker to participate in real conversations. Take a look at Part 1 of the series here and Part 2 here.
 
Today, we'll focus on the use of the pronoun cual (plural cuales), which should not be mixed up with the interrogative adjective cuál (plural cuáles) that modifies and accompanies a noun, as in the following example:
 

¿Pero cuál juego les gusta más?

But which attraction do you like the most?

Caption 36, Guillermina y Candelario - El parque de diversiones

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Or with the interrogative pronoun cuál (plural cuáles) that takes the place of a noun. In the following example, when having a conversation about cars, someone uses it to ask:
 

¿Cuál te gusta a ti?

Which one do you like?

Caption 13, 75 minutos - Gangas para ricos

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The focus of our lesson today, the pronoun cual/cuales (without the accent mark) is not used to ask questions. Rather, it's used in fixed phrases (called locusiones in Spanish) that usually involve the combination of articles, prepositions, and other pronouns. In this case, the core is always a definite article + cual: el cual, la cual, lo cual, for the singular, and los cuales, las cuales, los cuales, for the plural. Other parts of speech can then be added to that: prepositions before, pronouns after. Let's see an example using the preposition en (on, in) and the personal pronoun nos:
 

Y el segundo tiene que ver con el lugar

And the second one has to do with the place

en el cual nos encontramos.

in which we are located.

Caption 35, Carlos explica - Tuteo, ustedeo y voseo: Conceptos básicos

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Here's an example with the preposition por (for). These are the words of a Mexican politician. We've transcribed a big chunk of what he says so you can see the phrase in context:
 

Yo sé que este país que me ha tocado conocer de cerca, palparlo de cerca...

I know that this country that I've had the fortune to know closely, to sense it closely...

sentirlo muy, muy profundamente y por el cual tengo una enorme pasión...

to feel it very, very deeply and for which I have an enormous passion...

Captions 2-3, Felipe Calderón - Publicidad

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Here's another long example using the plural feminine form las cuales and the preposition con (with):

Básicamente este era un juguete que era un amplificador,

Basically this was a toy that was an amplifier,

con algunas pistas,

with some tracks,

con las cuales los niños juegan a cantar, ¿no?

that kids sing along with, right?

Captions 62-63, Lo que no sabías - Arte electrónico

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Now an example using the preposition de (for) and the neutral form lo cual:
 

Es básicamente lo mismo que hicimos

It's basically the same thing we did

en el laboratorio pero a escala industrial,

in the laboratory but on an industrial scale,

de lo cual están encargados otros colegas.

which other colleagues are in charge of.

Captions 61-62, Una Historia de Café - La Catación

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You can find many other combinations in our catalog of videos, with other prepositions and pronouns, or without them. Here's just one example with the preposition de (of) and the pronoun me:
 

De lo cual me siento muy orgulloso.

I'm very proud of that [of which I'm very proud].

Caption 41, Escuela Don Quijote - Jesús Baz

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Something important to note is that it's possible to substitute the pronoun cual with the pronoun que. This is especially true in colloquial Spanish, though considered less correct in formal or written speech. Take the first example above, el lugar en el cual nos encontramos: people also say el lugar en el que nos encontramos. The same substitution can be made with all the other subsequent examples.

Yo sé que este país que me ha tocado conocer de cerca, palparlo de cerca...

I know that this country that I've had the fortune to know closely, to sense it closely...

Caption 2, Felipe Calderón - Publicidad - Part 1

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In addition to the well known meaning "to touch," there are many other uses of the verb tocar, one is to indicate chance or fortune.

Esta es la vida que me toca vivir.
This is the life that I have [fate has given me] to live.

Me tocó el boleto de la buena suerte.
I got [by chance] the lucky ticket [of all the ones distributed].

Le ha tocado la lotería.
She has won the lottery.
 

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This is the sense that Felipe Calderón is using the verb in the phrase above:

"I know that this country that I have had the fortune to know closely, to sense closely..."

Keep your ears open for this use of tocar when you are listening to native Spanish.