Decí

Decí is the second-person singular imperative form of the Spanish verb decir in the voseo paradigm, used in Rioplatense Spanish varieties such as those of Argentina and Uruguay. It conveys a direct command to the informal “vos” rather than to “tú.” The form corresponds to the standard tú imperative di, but is specific to vos, a characteristic feature of regional speech.

Morphology and usage: In voseo, the present indicative is decís (you say), and the affirmative imperative is formed by removing the final s from the present indicative and adding an accent, yielding decí (say it). The stress pattern shifts to the final syllable. Negative vos commands typically appear as no digás (you don’t say) in many varieties, with some speakers also using no digas as an alternative.

Regional distribution: Decí is widely used in Argentina and Uruguay and is a hallmark of Rioplatense Spanish. It reflects the broader voseo phenomenon, where vos replaces tú as the familiar second-person pronoun and influences verb conjugation across many tenses and moods.

Etymology: Decí derives from decir, meaning “to say.” The voseo forms retain the root of decir while modifying the ending and stress to align with the vos form.

See also: Voseo; Spanish verb conjugation; Rioplatense Spanish.

Note: In formal or standard Spanish contexts, or in other dialects, the corresponding forms are di for tú and diga for usted, not decí.