distingúelos

Distingúelos is a Spanish imperative phrase used to tell someone informal “you” (tú) to distinguish or tell apart two or more items or people. It is formed from the verb distinguir with the direct object pronoun los attached, meaning “them.” The accent on the ú reflects orthographic rules that preserve the original stress of the verb when a pronoun is added to an affirmative command.

Grammatically, disting uir is the base verb, and in the affirmative tú command the form is distinguished as distinguir plus the pronoun los. When a clitic pronoun is appended to an affirmative command, Spanish spelling often places an accent on the stressed syllable, producing distingúelos. This pattern—verb in affirmative command plus attached pronoun—applies to other similar constructions as well, and helps maintain the word’s proper pronunciation.

Usage of distingúelos occurs in educational, instructional, or evaluative contexts, as well as in everyday conversation, whenever the speaker wants someone to identify differences or tell apart two or more elements. Examples include phrases like “Distingúelos entre estas opciones” or “Distingúelos de esas dos imágenes,” which direct a listener to recognize distinguishing features.

Variations exist depending on the gender and number of the objects and on other grammatical persons. For feminine plural objects, the corresponding form would use las instead of los (distingúelas). The equivalent forms for other subjects (such as ustedes or usted) follow the same principle of attaching a pronoun to the appropriate imperative form, with orthographic adjustments to preserve stress.

See also: distinguir, imperative mood, clitic pronouns.