Let’s a look at some Spanish words that begin with the prefix “des.”
Deshecho – undone
Deshacer – to undo
Descubierto – uncovered
Desagradecido – ungrateful
Destapar – to uncover
Note that the Spanish prefix “des” can also mean the English prefix “dis.”
Desamar – to disarm
Desaprobar – to disaprove
Desobediente – disobedient
Now here’s a pitfall that you will want to avoid. And it is a mistake that I have heard more than one English speaker make when speaking Spanish.
The correct way to say “disrespectful” in Spanish is NOT “desrespetuoso.
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The correct way to say “disrespectful” in Spanish is “irrespetuoso.”
Katerine le habló a su mamá de manera irrespetuosa gritándole palabras groseras.
Katerine spoke to her mother in a disrespectful manner yelling rude words at her.
In fact, if you go to the online “diccionario” (dictionary) for the Real Academia Española (Royal Spanish Academy) — the official institution responsible for regulating the Spanish language — and you search for “desrespetuoso” you will get a message that says:
“La palabra desrespetuoso no está en el Diccionario.”
So don’t ever say “desrespetuoso” when you should be saying “irrespetuoso” for the English word “disrespectful.”
