The various meanings of Fíjate que & Fíjese que
At Doorway To Mexico, our goal is to help increase your fluency and comprehension of real conversational Spanish. That's why today we're sharing some lessons on a widely used Spanish expression in Latin America.
The Spanish expressions fíjate que (tú) and fíjese que (usted) are commonly used in Mexico as interjections or conversation starters. It's a neutral expression, meaning it can be used informally with friends and acquaintances, as well as in more formal situations.
First, some background on where fíjate and fíjese come from and what they mean.
- Fíjate and fíjese both stem from the verb fíjarse, a verb with several meanings.
- In the context we're looking at today, the verb fijar(se) can broadly be translated as "to pay attention" or "to notice." However as the following examples illustrate, the expressions fíjate que and fíjese que can be translated in a variety of different ways depending on the context.
- Fíjate is the verb fijarse conjugated in imperative in the tú form (fíja + te), while fíjese is conjugated in the usted form (fíje + se).
How they are used
- Fíjate que and fíjese que are often used as interjections and conversation starters. They're simple ways that we can call someone's attention to something.
- Fíjate que and fíjese que also can be used as a way to add a touch of emphasis to a statement.
Examples of the various ways we can translate fíjate que and fíjese que in different contexts
Fíjate que / Actually
Fíjate que tengo que terminar mi tarea de español. / Actually, I have to finish my Spanish homework.
Fíjate que / Hey
Fíjate que quería comentarte de todos los lugares interesantes que visité en México. / Hey, I wanted to tell you about all the interesting places I visited in Mexico.
Fíjate que / Check it out
Fíjate que te tengo buenas noticias; Mateo me dijo que los resultados de la empresa mejoraron mucho este mes. / Check it out, I have good news; Mateo told me that the company’s results improved a lot this month.
Fíjate que / You know what
Fíjate que ayer hablé con Maricarmen sobre las cosas que necesitamos mandarle a José Luis. / You know what, yesterday I spoke with Maricarmen about the stuff we need to send to Jose Luis.
Fíjese que / Actually
(a) Oiga Letty, ¿sabe a qué hora cierran la tienda? (b) Fíjese que no, no sé a qué hora cierran la tienda. / (a) Hey Letty, do you know what time the store closes? (b) Actually no, I don’t know what time it closes.
Fíjate que / As a matter of fact
(a) ¿Te gustó esa película? (b) Fíjate que sí. / (a) Did you like that movie? (b) As a matter of fact, yes I did.
Fíjese que / Look
Fíjese que ya tengo los papeles listos que me pidió. / Look, I’ve got the papers ready that you asked me for.
Fíjese que / You see
Fíjese que ayer ya no pude mandarle los documentos, pero se los mando hoy. / You see, yesterday I couldn’t send you the documents, but I’ll send them to you today.
Fíjese que / You know
Fíjese que hoy encontré unas flores muy bonitas en el mercado que le pueden servir para su fiesta. / You know, today I found some really beautiful flowers in the market that you can use for your party.
Fíjese que / Guess what
Fíjese que encontré unos productos muy buenos de limpieza y son ecológicos. / Guess what, I found some great cleaning products that are eco-friendly
Los mexicanos usamos mucho esta manera de empezar una conversación, así que la próxima vez que practiques tu español ¡prueba usar esta nueva manera para que te escuches como todo un nativo!
Gracias por ser parte de Doorway To Mexico.
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