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If I threw a snowball (or dodgeball) at someone and it hit them, how would I say :

I got you!

in Spanish?

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10 Answers 10

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17

I am pretty sure that there will be differences depending on the country.

In Mexico you would say "¡Te di!" specifically to say if you hit someone with a snowball or when playing dodgeball.

Just for the sake of completing the answer based on the other discussions. I believe, and this is my personal opinion since this is not a common phrase for Mexico, that "te pillé" is more accurate when you find someone as when playing hide and seek for which in my country you would say "te encontré".

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  • 4
    +1 for pointing that it could be different on each country. In Cuba (and other caribbean countries) we would say "te cogí", but the same phrase can be somewhat coarse/vulgar/offensive in other latin-american countries.
    – yms
    Jan 7, 2013 at 19:36
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    Be careful when using words like hit, grab, throw, etc. as mentioned above, you may receive a hit, grab, or throw yourself.
    – thunsaker
    Jan 17, 2013 at 16:38
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    I would also opt for "Te di" (no accent needed). I'm from Argentina
    – leonbloy
    Jun 29, 2015 at 13:41
  • Si no me equivoco en Chile dicen "Te cache".
    – AlexBcn
    Jul 2, 2015 at 7:22
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    I think Te di is a very good compromise for hispanics in general. Most will understand it and it isn't so localized for them to consider inappropriate. Kudos.
    – Joze
    Jul 2, 2015 at 11:56
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As Alexis says, a good translation to that could be "¡Te pillé!", but I don't really picture myself saying that when hitting someone with a snowball. More like when playing "el pillar" (the tag game), "escondite" (hide-and-seek) or the like.

Alternatively, you could say "¡Toma eso!", which roughly means "Take that!", or perhaps "¡Chúpate esa!", which could be translated to "Eat that!" or "Bite the dust!". But these are arguably harsher things to say to a young girl :-)

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    I would say ¡Te pillé! if the other person was hidden. If it is more like a battle of snowballs then a good laugh and hide yourself just in case (las venganzas suelen ser terribles)
    – OnaBai
    Dec 19, 2012 at 11:25
  • @OnaBai I like "¡Toma eso!" ! Is this one fine to use with a young girl?! "¡Toma eso!" seems much closer to what OP was referring to and I guess can be used in a playing field?!
    – Mohit
    Jan 8, 2013 at 10:24
  • Yes, you can use it and I don't think that age or gender might be a problem. What might be a problem is the intention (how you say it) because it might be either challenging (cause the other person go one step further in the game) or might be considered offending (I'm better than you and look what I did to you). I recommend you to show your nicest smile after saying te pillé but don't laugh to loud :-D
    – OnaBai
    Jan 8, 2013 at 12:48
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    Chúpate esa is a rather vulgar expression. Use it at your discretion.
    – Joze
    Jun 29, 2015 at 12:30
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    ¡chupate esa! is more like eat dust!
    – eduyayo
    Jul 6, 2015 at 15:57
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[DISCLAIMER : I'm not a native speaker, so even though I've been living for 10 years in Spain, there sure are better translations.]

I would say

¡Te he pillado!

Or

¡Pillado/a!

However, I'm not sure that:

  • it's really kids-friendly
  • it might not have some different meaning in other Spanish-speaking countries
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1

Like many have said before, "¡Te pillé!" is the most formal translation; but it does sound quite off in many latin american countries (where the verb pillar is not at all used).

Perhaps you could use a more broad: "¡Te atiné!" which is more akin to I hit the mark but manages to be a more neutral translation.

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En Español en esos casos y en mi zona, cuando aciertas tirándole a alguien con una bola de nieve y tienes la suerte de darle, decimos simplemente, ¡Toma!, con el sentido, ¡ahí llevas!.

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0

As a Mexican I would say:

Ándele!

or

Tómala!

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0

Just as alternative to what the OP asked, another meaning for "I got you" is "I understand you". So you can say "Te entiendo".

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  • Completely true, but the OP already gave the context of throwing a snowball to someone, so I don't know if this is better suited as a comment (not raising any flags, though).
    – Diego
    Jul 2, 2015 at 13:27
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It depends about the context:

Answer to an explanation: I got you! = Formal way: Lo entiendo, entendido, te he entendido. Spanish slang: te pillo, te cojo (DO NOT use this last one in LATAM!)

If you save somebody that is about to hit the floor: I got you! = Te tengo!

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-2

Honestly, I think you wouldn’t.

When the person looks back at you, you would probably just smile to let him/her know it’s just a game. Nothing else needed.

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  • I should clarify... I mean it in a playful, non competitive way. I lobbed a squishy ball at my young daughter during "Spanish time" and I would have liked to have said "I got you!" to her in spanish I'm just not sure if its a direct translation or not
    – Teresa
    Dec 19, 2012 at 8:05
  • For that special context I would use no words at all. As Chewie explains, “te pillé” is for a different kind of game, while “toma eso” and “chúpase esa” are not appropiated for the context.
    – Gallaecio
    Dec 19, 2012 at 11:27
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What about "Te pegué!" (I hit you!)

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    Golpear is to hit as in to beat or strike (for example, with fists). You could use pegar, however. Also, whenever you have a personal pronoun as an (in)direct object, coapparition of the object pronoun is mandatory: te golpeé a ti or simply te golpeé, but not just golpeé a ti (it's weird, I know)
    – user0721090601
    Jun 30, 2015 at 6:02
  • -1 This isn't correct. In any case welcome to the site, remember to read the FAQ for more info about how it works.
    – Joze
    Jun 30, 2015 at 7:26
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    Guifa just explained what needs to be fixed in your answer. This is a great site to learn Spanish. Don't be discouraged to keep contributing. Welcome to the site!
    – Diego
    Jun 30, 2015 at 13:09
  • Thanks for the feedback and encouragement. I took your suggestions.
    – liquidki
    Jul 20, 2015 at 16:37

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