What is the difference between mordida and picadura?

Mordida comes from morder (to bite with teeth) and refers to a bite from an animal, a person, or a bite taken from food—anything involving teeth. Picadura comes from picar (to sting/prick) and covers insect bites, bee stings, and snake bites (because the fang pierces). English lumps these under 'bite,' but Spanish distinguishes between tearing/chewing (mordida) and piercing/stinging (picadura).

How do you conjugate morder?

Morder is an -er verb with an o→ue stem change in the present tense: yo muerdo, tú muerdes, él/ella muerde, nosotros mordemos, vosotros mordéis, ellos muerden. In the preterite, it is regular: yo mordí, tú mordiste, él mordió. The past participle is mordido: el perro ha mordido (the dog has bitten).

Does mordida have a slang meaning?

In Mexican Spanish, mordida colloquially means a bribe—particularly a small bribe paid to avoid a traffic ticket or speed up bureaucratic processes. This slang usage is widely known across Latin America. Dar mordida means to pay a bribe. The metaphor likens a corrupt official to an animal taking a bite. This secondary meaning is specific to informal Mexican speech.

Spanish vocabulary · Beginner

BITE in Spanish: MORDER

Written by Sofia Ramirez, Lead Spanish Curriculum Editor · Reviewed May 2026

Morder · verb · mohr-DEHR

Bite translates to morder in Spanish when referring to biting with teeth—a dog biting, biting into food, or biting your lip. The noun form is mordida (a bite). For insect bites, Spanish uses a completely different word: picadura (from picar, to sting or prick). This distinction is important because English uses 'bite' for both teeth and insects, while Spanish separates them clearly.

mohr-DEHR

El perro me mordió la mano cuando intenté acariciarlo.

The dog bit my hand when I tried to pet it.

Bite in Spanish: Quick Reference

Below are the most common Spanish words for bite, with pronunciation and regional usage notes.

Spanish	English	Pronunciation	Region / Register
morder	bite	mohr-DEHR	Default, widely understood
mordida	bite		noun: a bite (the mark or act)
picadura	bite		insect bite or sting

How Native Speakers Use Morder

Real example sentences across three contexts you'll actually run into.

Animal bite

¡Cuidado! Ese gato muerde si lo molestas.

Careful! That cat bites if you bother it.

Morder is used for any animal biting with teeth.

Eating food

Mordió la manzana y descubrió que estaba ácida.

She bit into the apple and found it was sour.

Morder applies to biting into food as well.

Insect bite

Tengo varias picaduras de mosquito en las piernas.

I have several mosquito bites on my legs.

Insect bites use picadura, not mordida.

Avoid These Mistakes When Using Morder

Using mordida for insect bites

Incorrect: Tengo una mordida de mosquito.

Correct: Tengo una picadura de mosquito.

Mordida is a bite from teeth (animals or humans). Insect bites are picaduras because insects sting or pierce rather than bite with teeth. Using mordida for a mosquito bite sounds like the mosquito literally chewed on you.

Forgetting the stem change in morder

Incorrect: El perro morde mucho.

Correct: El perro muerde mucho.

Morder is an o→ue stem-changing verb. In the present tense, the o changes to ue in all forms except nosotros and vosotros: yo muerdo, tú muerdes, él muerde, but nosotros mordemos.

Lock in Bite Vocabulary with the Parrot Method

Why word lists alone don't stick

Memorizing a translation feels productive, but most learners forget 70% of what they studied within 48 hours. Vocabulary needs spaced repetition AND real-world exposure to transfer to long-term memory.

See Morder used by native speakers

Parrot's short-form videos feature native speakers using morder in real situations. Context-based exposure beats flashcards, you hear El perro me mordió la mano cuando intenté acariciarlo. while watching someone live the moment, connecting meaning, sound, and rhythm at once.

Save, review, repeat, stay consistent

Tap any word to save it. Parrot's spaced-repetition system surfaces it right before you'd forget, no manual flashcard creation. The watch, parrot back, save, review cycle turns recognition into fluency at 2.7x the speed of traditional study.

Common Questions About Bite in Spanish

What is the difference between mordida and picadura?: Mordida comes from morder (to bite with teeth) and refers to a bite from an animal, a person, or a bite taken from food—anything involving teeth. Picadura comes from picar (to sting/prick) and covers insect bites, bee stings, and snake bites (because the fang pierces). English lumps these under 'bite,' but Spanish distinguishes between tearing/chewing (mordida) and piercing/stinging (picadura).
How do you conjugate morder?: Morder is an -er verb with an o→ue stem change in the present tense: yo muerdo, tú muerdes, él/ella muerde, nosotros mordemos, vosotros mordéis, ellos muerden. In the preterite, it is regular: yo mordí, tú mordiste, él mordió. The past participle is mordido: el perro ha mordido (the dog has bitten).
Does mordida have a slang meaning?: In Mexican Spanish, mordida colloquially means a bribe—particularly a small bribe paid to avoid a traffic ticket or speed up bureaucratic processes. This slang usage is widely known across Latin America. Dar mordida means to pay a bribe. The metaphor likens a corrupt official to an animal taking a bite. This secondary meaning is specific to informal Mexican speech.