Spanish vocabulary · Beginner
How to Say Care in Spanish: Cuidado, Cuidar, and Importar
Cuidado · noun · kwee-DAH-doh
The concept of 'care' in Spanish splits into several words: 'cuidado' (noun: care, caution), 'cuidar' (verb: to take care of physically), and 'importar' (verb: to care about emotionally, to matter). Understanding which to use depends on whether you mean providing care, feeling concern, or exercising caution.
Cuidado is pronounced kwee-DAH-doh. Cuidar is kwee-DAHR. Importar is eem-pohr-TAHR. The 'cui' combination makes a quick 'kwee' sound.
El cuidado de los ancianos requiere mucha paciencia y dedicación.
The care of the elderly requires a lot of patience and dedication.
Care in Spanish: Quick Reference
Below are the most common Spanish words for care, with pronunciation and regional usage notes.
| Spanish | English | Pronunciation | Region / Register |
|---|---|---|---|
| cuidado | care | kwee-DAH-doh | Default, widely understood |
| cuidar | care | verb: to care for/take care of | |
| importar | care | to care about (emotionally) |
How Native Speakers Use Cuidado
Real example sentences across three contexts you'll actually run into.
Physical care
Mi madre cuida a mis hijos mientras trabajo.
My mother takes care of my children while I work.
Cuidar expresses the act of looking after or tending to someone.
Emotional concern
No me importa lo que digan los demás.
I don't care what others say.
Importar (used like gustar) expresses whether something matters emotionally to you.
Warning/Caution
¡Cuidado con el escalón, te puedes caer!
Careful with the step, you might fall!
Cuidado as an exclamation means 'careful!' or 'watch out!'
Avoid These Mistakes When Using Cuidado
Using cuidar for emotional caring
Incorrect: No cuido sobre tu opinión.
Correct: No me importa tu opinión.
'Cuidar' means to physically take care of something/someone. For emotional caring (whether something matters to you), use 'importar' with the indirect object structure: 'no me importa'.
Incorrect importar structure
Incorrect: Yo importo mis amigos.
Correct: Me importan mis amigos.
Like 'gustar,' the verb 'importar' uses an inverted structure: the thing you care about is the subject (mis amigos importan) and you are the indirect object (me importan).
Lock in Care 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 Cuidado used by native speakers
Parrot's short-form videos feature native speakers using cuidado in real situations. Context-based exposure beats flashcards, you hear El cuidado de los ancianos requiere mucha paciencia y dedicación. 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 Care in Spanish
- How do you say 'I don't care' in Spanish?
- The most common ways to say 'I don't care' are 'no me importa' (it doesn't matter to me), 'me da igual' (it's all the same to me), or the more casual 'me da lo mismo'—with 'no me importa' being the most direct translation.
- What's the difference between cuidar and importar?
- Cuidar means to physically take care of someone or something (a child, a pet, a garden), while importar means to emotionally care about or find something important—you 'cuidas' your sick grandmother (tend to her) and things 'te importan' (matter to you).
- How do you say 'take care' as a goodbye?
- When saying goodbye, 'take care' translates to '¡cuídate!' (informal, to one person) or '¡cuídese!' (formal), both being reflexive commands of 'cuidar' meaning 'take care of yourself'—it's a warm, caring way to end a conversation.