dile

Dile is a word primarily known from Spanish grammar, where it functions as a verb form rather than a standalone noun. In everyday use, dile appears in imperatives that direct someone to convey information to another person.

In Spanish, dile is the second-person singular (tú) affirmative imperative form of the verb decir, combined with the indirect object pronoun le (to him or to her). This creates a single cliticized command meaning “tell him/her.” The construction is common in informal speech and written dialogue. Examples include: Dile la verdad (Tell him/her the truth), Dile dónde está (Tell him/her where it is).

The form follows standard rules for clitic pronouns in Spanish, where pronouns attach to the end of the verb or are used with accompanying objects. Dile is typically followed by a direct object (what to tell) and, if needed, additional phrases such as a location or further instructions. Pronoun placement can vary with longer verb phrases or compound tenses, but in the simple imperative, dile stands alone as a compact directive.

Beyond its primary grammatical use in Spanish, dile may appear in other contexts as a string of letters, a proper name, or an acronym in unrelated languages or domains. Because of this, the intended meaning of dile depends on context, and readers should look for surrounding clues to determine whether it refers to the imperative from decir or to an entirely different usage.

In sum, dile most commonly denotes the command “tell him/her” in Spanish, formed from decir plus le, and serves as a practical example of Spanish clitic-assisted imperatives in everyday speech.