fíjate
The imperative form of the pronominal verb fijarse (fíjate, fijaos, fíjese, fíjense) is very common in spoken Spanish. It has several meanings depending on the context and the tone of the speaker.
1) Used with the preposition en to draw attention to something the speaker is pointing out physically.1
-Fíjate en ese punto de la pantalla — Look carefully at/Observe that dot on the screen
-Ya que estamos analizando su letra, fíjense en la palabra 'cazar', que está escrita en negrita — Since we're analyzing his handwriting, observe/look carefully at the word 'hunt', which is in bold
-Mirad cómo se mueve en el escenario. Fijaos bien — Look how he moves on the stage. Watch carefully
¡Fijaos en esta foto! — Check this photo out! [Ojo: en la lengua hablada es frecuente oír 'fijaros', lo cual se considera incorrecto en el modo imperativo - véase infinitivo como imperativo]
2) Used without the preposition, usually in exclamations, to express admiration or surprise at something that is happening. In this case the speaker isn't telling the listener to observe or pay attention to something, but rather highlighting something interesting or special about it.2
¡Fíjate (Mira) cómo corre! — Look at him run! [Expressing admiration or surprise at the way he runs]
→Fíjate en cómo corre — Look how he runs [Observe or pay attention to the way he runs]
-Fíjense lo que está pasando en Madrid — Just look at what's happening in Madrid
-Fíjate qué educada es — Look how polite she is
-¡Fíjate lo que come el niño! — Look at the amount the boy eats
→Fíjate en lo que come el niño — Look at/Notice what the boy is eating
3) Used to draw attention to something that the speaker is saying –especially something that we are likely to find surprising or unexpected– usually with rising intonation. It doesn't have a direct translation to English.
"Fíjate: Expresión expletiva o enfática que se intercala en una exposición".2
-Sé que es amigo mío, pero no le creo, fíjate —I know he's my friend, but I just don't believe him [Surprising]
-¿Me echas una mano con esto? -Pues hoy no me da la gana, fíjate — Can you give me a hand with this? -Well, today I don't feel like it for some reason... [Possibly sarcastic; the speaker may have good reason for not wanting to do it –similar to ¡mira por dónde!]
-Es mejor pintarlo primero -Fíjate, yo lo habría hecho al revés — -It's better to paint it first -How about that! I would have done it the other way round
-Y, fíjate, que ahora es todo lo contrario — And look, now it's the complete opposite
b) Used with the emphatic si to emphasize the degree to which something is clearly true, often followed by an explanation.
-Vaya langosta. -Fíjate si es fresca. Está coleando todavía — -What a lobster! -It's fresh all right! Still alive and kicking
-¿Tú estás conmigo o estás contra mí? Porque estoy empezando a dudar... -¡Pero qué me estás contando, tío! Fíjate si estoy de tu parte, (que) ayer rechacé una oferta de seis cifras por no traicionarte — Are you with me or against me? Because I'm starting to have doubts... -What are you talking about, man! I'm on your side all right. Yesterday I turned down a six-figure sum to not sell you out
Goyo Giménez uses the expression frequently in his stand-up comedy (Watch video):
-...y fíjate si es sensible el americano... — ...the American man is sensitive all right...
-El americano sabe seducir, y fíjate, sin palabras — The American man knows how to seduce, and notice -without words
-La frase no la voy a decir, pero la solución sí la digo, fíjate — I'm not going to say the phrase, but I will tell you the solution. How about that!
-...también es conocido como la viagra amazónica, fíjate — ...it's also known as, check this out / get this, Amazonic Viagra
En la Prensa
Fíjate si es inteligente que se burla de la propia obra y de los personajes. El Mundo-Apr 1, 2016
Pues no me lo creo, fíjate lo que te digo. Diario Vasco-Feb 8, 2017
Tengo capacidad de empatizar con el otro, fíjate. Vanity Fair -Feb 8, 2017
In Español-Avanzado Articles
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-fíjate - significado-
