hacer
to make
A versatile verb built around the core idea of "making"
Encoding Strategies:
repetition
Hacer means to make, and nearly all of its uses connect back to a single core idea: producing or bringing something about0.
hacer
to make, to do
To produce or create something. Spanish doesn't distinguish between "making" and "doing" the way English does. When you "do homework," Spanish thinks of it as "making homework," which actually makes sense because you're literally producing homework.
- Hice una torta = I made a cake
- Hago la tarea todos los días = I do my homework every day
to be (weather)
Used to talk about weather and temperature. English says "it's hot," but Spanish says "hace calor," literally "it makes heat." Both use a vague "it," but Spanish thinks of it as "making" heat rather than it "being" hot.
- Hace mucho calor hoy = It's very hot today
- Hace frío en las montañas = It's cold in the mountains
it has been, ago (time)
Used to talk about time that has passed. English focuses on time passing or elapsing (e.g. "it's been two years" or "two years ago"). Spanish thinks about time continuously being created (e.g. "hace dos años," literally "it makes two years"). Both languages use a vague "it."
- Hace dos años que vivo aquí = I've been living here for two years
- Lo conocí hace mucho tiempo = I met him a long time ago
to make (to cause)
To cause someone to do or feel something.
- hacer reír = to make (someone) laugh
- hacer esperar = to make (someone) wait
hacerse
to become
When you "make yourself" into something, you become it.
- Se hizo médico después de años de estudio = He became a doctor after years of study
- Me hice amiga de ella en el trabajo = I became friends with her at work