decirle

Decirle is a Spanish verb construction formed by the verb decir (to say, to tell) with the indirect object pronoun le, meaning “to tell (someone).” It expresses the act of telling something to a person or making a remark toward someone. In usage, le marks the recipient of the information, while the thing told is carried by a direct object pronoun (lo, la, los, las) or by a full noun phrase.

Usage and forms

Decirle appears in many tenses and constructions, for example: voy a decirle la verdad (I am going to tell him the truth), le dije la noticia (I told him the news), ¿qué le dices? (what are you telling him?). The verb can combine with a direct object pronoun to form phrases like decírselo, meaning “to tell it to him/her.” Examples: tengo que decírselo (I have to tell it to him). In imperative form: dile la verdad (tell him the truth).

Pronoun placement and variants

In Spanish, when a indirect object pronoun le/les is followed by a direct object pronoun lo/la/los/las, the le/les often changes to se to avoid the sequence (se lo, se la, etc.). This gives forms such as se lo dije for “I told it to him.” The clitic combination decírselo is common in spoken language. Note that leísmo — using le to refer to masculine direct objects in some dialects — affects only certain constructions and varies by region.

Related terms

Decirle is closely related to phrases like contárselo (to tell him/her), decirle algo (to tell him/her something), and other verb+pronoun combinations that convey giving information to a recipient.

Etymology

Derives from decir (to say, to tell) plus the indirect object pronoun le, with standard development in Spanish pronoun usage.