What does ahogarse in Spanish mean?

What is the meaning of the word ahogarse in Spanish? The article explains the full meaning, pronunciation along with bilingual examples and instructions on how to use ahogarse in Spanish.

The word ahogarse in Spanish means choke, strangle, stifle, smother, drown, swamp, overwhelm, overcome, overpower, flood, drown, feel stifled, drown, choke, flood, get overwhelmed, stifle, muffle, make a mountain out of a molehill, make a big deal out of nothing, drown your sorrows, drown your sorrows in alcohol, drown your sorrows, drown your sorrows. To learn more, please see the details below.

Listen to pronunciation

Meaning of the word ahogarse

choke, strangle

verbo transitivo (asfixiar, estrangular)

(transitive verb: Verb taking a direct object--for example, "Say something." "She found the cat.")
El cinturón casi ahogó al niño porque lo llevaba en el cuello.
The seat belt almost choked the child because it went across his neck.

stifle, smother

verbo transitivo (oprimir, atosigar) (figurative)

(transitive verb: Verb taking a direct object--for example, "Say something." "She found the cat.")
Ahogas a tu novia con tantos mensajes y llamadas.
You're stifling (or: smothering) your girlfriend with all those text messages and phone calls.

drown, swamp

verbo transitivo (coloquial (empapar, sumergir) (colloquial: excess liquid)

(transitive verb: Verb taking a direct object--for example, "Say something." "She found the cat.")
Tú no fríes las patatas, las ahogas en aceite.
You don't just fry potatoes. You drown (or: swamp) them in oil.

overwhelm, overcome, overpower

verbo transitivo (agobiar, angustiar)

(transitive verb: Verb taking a direct object--for example, "Say something." "She found the cat.")
Una pena ahoga a mi hijo y no quiere compartirla conmigo.
Some problem is overwhelming my son, but he won't tell me about it.

flood

verbo transitivo (inundar el carburador) (automobiles)

(transitive verb: Verb taking a direct object--for example, "Say something." "She found the cat.")
Si un exceso de gasolina ahoga el motor, pisa el acelerador a fondo.
If too much petrol floods the engine, press the accelerator to the floor.

drown

verbo pronominal (morirse por inmersión)

(intransitive verb: Verb not taking a direct object--for example, "She jokes." "He has arrived.")
Una mujer se ahogó al hundirse el barco en el que viajaba.
A woman drowned after the boat she was travelling in capsized.

feel stifled

verbo pronominal (sentir asfixia) (by heat, claustrophobia)

Sentía que se ahogaba en los espacios pequeños.
He felt stifled in small spaces.

drown

verbo pronominal (planta: anegarse)

(intransitive verb: Verb not taking a direct object--for example, "She jokes." "He has arrived.")
Tu planta se ahogó porque la regabas a cada rato.
Your plant drowned because you watered it too much.

choke

verbo pronominal (faltar el aire)

(intransitive verb: Verb not taking a direct object--for example, "She jokes." "He has arrived.")
Casi nos ahogamos de risa cuando Javier se cayó.
When Javier fell over, we laughed so hard we almost choked.

flood

verbo pronominal (carburador)

(intransitive verb: Verb not taking a direct object--for example, "She jokes." "He has arrived.")
El coche no arranca porque se ahogó por exceso de gasolina.
The car wouldn't start because it had been flooded by excess fuel.

get overwhelmed

verbo pronominal (persona: acongojarse)

Se ahogaba en un mar de dudas.
He's getting overwhelmed by so many doubts.

stifle, muffle

verbo transitivo (grito: reprimir, sofocar) (a sound)

(transitive verb: Verb taking a direct object--for example, "Say something." "She found the cat.")
Ahogó un grito de dolor al recibir la noticia.
He stifled (or: muffled) a cry of anguish when he heard the news.

make a mountain out of a molehill, make a big deal out of nothing

locución verbal (figurado (agobiarse por nada)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")

drown your sorrows

locución verbal (coloquial, figurado (emborracharse) (colloquial, figurative)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Ahogar las penas no soluciona los problemas.
Drowning your sorrows doesn't solve your problems.

drown your sorrows in alcohol, drown your sorrows

locución verbal (beber para olvidar)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Luego de la discusión con su mujer se fue al bar a ahogar las penas en alcohol.
After the argument with his wife he went to the bar to drown his sorrows in alcohol.

drown your sorrows

locución verbal (emborracharse) (figurative)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
José se fue al bar a ahogar penas luego de que su equipo perdiera el campeonato.
Jose went to the bar to drown his sorrows after his team lost the championship.

Let's learn Spanish

So now that you know more about the meaning of ahogarse in Spanish, you can learn how to use them through selected examples and how to read them. And remember to learn the related words that we suggest. Our website is constantly updating with new words and new examples so you can look up the meanings of other words you don't know in Spanish.

Do you know about Spanish

Spanish (español), also known as Castilla, is a language of the Iberian-Romance group of the Romance languages, and the 4th most common language in the world according to Some sources, while others list it as a 2nd or 3rd most common language. It is the mother tongue of about 352 million people, and is spoken by 417 million people when adding its speakers as a language. sub (estimated in 1999). Spanish and Portuguese have very similar grammar and vocabulary; The number of similar vocabulary of these two languages is up to 89%. Spanish is the primary language of 20 countries around the world. It is estimated that the total number of speakers of Spanish is between 470 and 500 million, making it the second most widely spoken language in the world by number of native speakers.