What does guardar in Spanish mean?

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

The word guardar in Spanish means keep, put away, hang on to, keep, guard, obey, uphold, watch out for, avoid, bear a grudge, hide one's feelings, save energy, maintain your composure, keep your composure, not give up hope, keep up appearances, keep your distance, keep a secret. To learn more, please see the details below.

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Meaning of the word guardar

keep

verbo transitivo (poner en sitio seguro) (securely stored)

(transitive verb: Verb taking a direct object--for example, "Say something." "She found the cat.")
Las joyas se guardan en la caja fuerte.
Jewelry is kept in the safe.

put away

verbo transitivo (poner en su lugar)

(phrasal verb, transitive, separable: Verb with adverb(s) or preposition(s), having special meaning, divisible--for example, "call off" [=cancel], "call the game off," "call off the game.")
Mis hijos guardan sus juguetes antes de irse a la cama.
My children put their toys away before going to bed.

hang on to

verbo transitivo (conservar, retener)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Guárdate tus ahorros para otra ocasión.
Hang on to your savings for when you might need them.

keep

verbo transitivo (mantener) (do as required)

(transitive verb: Verb taking a direct object--for example, "Say something." "She found the cat.")
Por favor, guarden silencio durante el concierto.
Please, keep quiet during the concert.

guard

verbo transitivo (vigilar, cuidar)

(transitive verb: Verb taking a direct object--for example, "Say something." "She found the cat.")
El pastor guarda las ovejas del lobo.
The shepherd guards the sheep from the wolf.

obey, uphold

verbo transitivo (cumplir lo obligado) (law, instructions)

(transitive verb: Verb taking a direct object--for example, "Say something." "She found the cat.")
Todos debemos guardar las leyes.
We should all obey (or: upkeep) laws.

watch out for

verbo pronominal (precaverse) (colloq.)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Guárdate de los aduladores.
Watch out for flatterers.

avoid

verbo pronominal (no hacer algo)

(transitive verb: Verb taking a direct object--for example, "Say something." "She found the cat.")
Ya me guardaré de volver por su casa, después de lo mal que me ha tratado.
I think I'll avoid going back to his house again after the way he treated me.

bear a grudge

locución verbal (coloquial (esperar para vengarse)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Manuel no perdona ninguna ofensa: siempre se la guarda para desquitarse a la primera oportunidad.
Manuel never forgives any offence: he always bears a grudge to get payback at the first opportunity.

hide one's feelings

locución verbal (disimular, ocultar)

Estuve sonriendo para guardar las apariencias, pero quería matarle.

save energy

(no agotar las fuerzas) (informal)

Guardemos energías para hoy a la noche.
Let's save energy for tonight.

maintain your composure, keep your composure

locución verbal (portarse con corrección)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Debes guardar la compostura en una entrevista de trabajo.
You must keep your composure in a job interview.

not give up hope

(tener confianza en algo)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
María guarda la esperanza de encontrar su reloj perdido.
Maria is not giving up hope on finding her lost watch.

keep up appearances

locución verbal (fingir que todo va bien)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Martín tuvo que guardar las apariencias cuando aparecieron sus hijos.
Martin had to keep up appearances when his children arrived.

keep your distance

locución verbal (tener reservas)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Lo mejor para no comprometernos en este asunto es guardar las distancias.
The best way to not get involved with this issue is to keep our distance.

keep a secret

locución verbal (ser discreto)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Pablo no sabe guardar un secreto.
Pablo doesn't know how to keep a secret.

Let's learn Spanish

So now that you know more about the meaning of guardar 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.