cuidé

Cuidé is the first-person singular form of the Spanish verb cuidar in the preterite tense, meaning I took care of or I watched over. It marks a completed action in the past in which the speaker cared for someone or something. This form is distinct from the present tense cuido and other past tenses such as cuidaba, and it is commonly used in narrative or recounting past events.

In usage, cuidé can be followed by the direct object with the preposition a, as in cuidé a mi hermano (I took care of my brother). It can also appear with the preposición de to indicate looking after someone or something more generally, as in cuidé de los niños (I looked after the children). Both cuídé a X and cuidé de X are acceptable in many dialects, with nuanced differences: cuidar de often emphasizes ongoing responsibility, while cuidar a focuses on the act of taking care of a person.

Pronunciation is roughly [kwiˈðe], with the stress on the final syllable. The accent on é helps distinguish the preterite form from other conjugations that would otherwise look similar.

Translations vary by context, commonly rendered as "I took care of," "I watched over," or "I looked after." It appears in personal narratives, reports of caregiving, and descriptions of past actions in care-related situations.

See also: cuidar, cuidado.