matar

See also: måtar

Asturian

Etymology

Most likely from Latin mactāre, present active infinitive of mactō (through a Vulgar Latin root *mattāre). Alternatively, possibly from Vulgar Latin *mattare, from Latin mattus.

Verb

matar (first-person singular indicative present mato, past participle matáu)

1. to kill

Conjugation

Conjugation of matar

infinitive		matar
gerund		matando
past participle		m matáu, f matada, n matao, m pl mataos, f pl mataes
person		first singular yo	second singular tu	third singular él/elli	first plural nosotros/nós	second plural vosotros/vós	third plural ellos
indicative	present	mato	mates	mata	matamos	matáis	maten
	imperfect	mataba	matabes	mataba	matábemos, matábamos	matabeis, matabais	mataben
	preterite	maté	matasti, matesti	mató	matemos	matastis, matestis	mataron
	pluperfect	matare, matara	matares, mataras	matare, matara	matáremos, matáramos	matareis, matarais	mataren, mataran
	future	mataré	matarás	matará	mataremos	mataréis	matarán
	conditional	mataría	mataríes	mataría	mataríemos, mataríamos	mataríeis, mataríais	mataríen
subjunctive	present	mate	mates, matas	mate	matemos	matéis	maten, matan
	imperfect	matare, matara	matares, mataras	matare, matara	matáremos, matáramos	matareis, matarais	mataren, mataran
imperative		—	mata	—	—	matái	—

Related terms

• matar

---

Catalan

Etymology

Most likely from Latin mactāre, present active infinitive of mactō (through a Vulgar Latin root *mattāre). Alternatively, possibly from Vulgar Latin *mattare, from Latin mattus.

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -a(ɾ)

Verb

matar (first-person singular present mato, past participle matat)

1. to kill

Conjugation

as cantar except for past participle (matat or mort)

Conjugation of matar (first conjugation)

infinitive			matar
present participle			matant
past participle				masculine		feminine
		singular		matat		matada
		plural		matats		matades
person		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		jo	tu	ell/ella vostè	nosaltres nós	vosaltres vós	ells/elles vostès
	present	mato	mates	mata	matem	mateu	maten
	imperfect	matava	mataves	matava	matàvem	matàveu	mataven
	future	mataré	mataràs	matarà	matarem	matareu	mataran
	preterite	matí	matares	matà	matàrem	matàreu	mataren
	conditional	mataria	mataries	mataria	mataríem	mataríeu	matarien
subjunctive		jo	tu	ell/ella vostè	nosaltres nós	vosaltres vós	ells/elles vostès
	present	mati	matis	mati	matem	mateu	matin
	imperfect	matés	matessis	matés	matéssim	matéssiu	matessin
imperative		—	tu	vostè	nosaltres	vosaltres vós	vostès
		—	mata	mati	matem	mateu	matin

Synonyms

• occir

References

• Institut d’Estudis Catalans (1995). Diccionari de la llengua catalana (4th edition). ISBN 84-412-2477-3.

---

Galician

Etymology

From Old Portuguese matar, most likely from Latin mactāre, present active infinitive of mactō (through a Vulgar Latin root *mattāre). Alternatively, possibly from Vulgar Latin *mattare, from Latin mattus.

Verb

matar (first-person singular present mato, first-person singular preterite matei, past participle matado)

1. to kill
2. first-person and third-person singular future subjunctive of matar
3. first-person and third-person singular personal infinitive of matar

Conjugation

    Conjugation of matar

infinitive			matar
gerund			matando
past participle				singular		plural
		masculine		matado		matados
		feminine		matada		matadas
person		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		eu	ti	el / ela / Vde.	nós	vós	eles / elas / Vdes.
	present	mato	matas	mata	matamos	matades	matan
	imperfect	mataba	matabas	mataba	matabamos	matabades	mataban
	preterite	matei	mataches	matou	matamos	matastes	mataron
	pluperfect	matara	mataras	matara	mataramos	matarades	mataran
	future	matarei	matarás	matará	mataremos	mataredes	matarán
	conditional	mataría	matarías	mataría	matariamos	matariades	matarían
subjunctive		eu	ti	el / ela / Vde.	nós	vós	eles / elas / Vdes.
	present	mate	mates	mate	matemos	matedes	maten
	preterite	matase	matases	matase	matásemos	matásedes	matasen
	future	matar	matares	matar	matarmos	matardes	mataren
imperative		—	ti	Vde.	nós	vós	Vdes.
	affirmative	—	mata	mate	matemos	matade	maten
	negative	—	mates	mate	matemos	matedes	maten
personal infinitive		eu	ti	el / ela / Vde.	nós	vós	eles / elas / Vdes.
		matar	matares	matar	matarmos	matardes	mataren

---

Portuguese

Alternative forms

• mattar (obsolete)
• matá (eye dialect, Brazil)

Etymology

From Old Portuguese matar, most likely from Latin mactāre, present active infinitive of mactō (through a Vulgar Latin root *mattāre). Alternatively, possibly from Vulgar Latin *mattare, from Latin mattus. The unusual development of -ct- has led some to believe that this word is not from Latin, but an early Wanderwort from Arabic مَاتَ (māta, “to die”).

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ma.ˈta(ʁ)/
• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /mɐ.ˈtaɾ/
• Hyphenation: ma‧tar

Verb

matar (first-person singular present indicative mato, short past participle morto, long past participle matado)

1. to kill (to cause to die)

   Matou-lhe a tiros!

   He shot him dead! (literally: [He] killed him with gunshots!)

   A geada matará a plantação.

   The frost will kill the crop.

   Ela matou-se com a faca.

   She killed herself with the knife.

2. (figuratively, transitive) to kill; to eradicate; to destroy

   Matou-lhe as esperanças

   He killed his hopes.

3. (figuratively, informal, transitive) to kill (to cause extreme pain, distress or exhaustion in)

   Minhas pernas estão me matando

   My legs are killing me!

   Essas palavras matam!

   These words kill!

4. (transitive) to kill (to write a story that conveys the death of)

   Hobbes matara o positivismo acerca da revolução.

   Hobbes had killed the positivism surrounding the revolution.

5. (figuratively, transitive) to satisfy, to satiate, to quench (to fulfil an emotional or physiological need)

   Antes de matar meu desejo de caminhar, preciso matar minha sede.

   Before I satisfy my desire to walk, I need to quench my thirst.

6. (figuratively, takes a reflexive pronoun) to break one's back (to make a great effort)

   O homem se matava para sustentar a família.

   The man broke his back providing for his family.

7. (colloquial, transitive) to spend [a period of time] doing unimportant things

   A escola ficou fechada hoje; tive o dia inteiro para matar.

   School was closed today; I had the entire day to goof around.

8. (Brazil, slang, transitive) to skip (not to be present in a class)

   Os alunos mataram a aula de geografia.

   The students skipped geography class.

9. (informal, transitive) to solve (to find the solution to a mystery)

   Finalmente matei a charada.

   I have finally solved the riddle.

10. (Brazil, slang, transitive) to consume something entirely (especially an alcoholic drink); to knock down

    Matamos uns cascos para relaxar.

    We knocked down a few forties to relax.

11. (sports, transitive) to stop a moving ball

    Passei de longe para o atacante, que matou a bola no peito.

    I passed the ball to the striker from a distance; he then stopped it with his chest.

12. (cue sports, transitive) to pocket (to cause a ball to go into one of the pockets of the table)

    Ela sempre mata duas ou três bolas na primeira tacada.

    She always pockets two or three balls with the first strike.

Conjugation

  Conjugation of the Portuguese -ar verb matar

Notes:[edit] This is a regular verb of the -ar group. Verbs with this conjugation include: matar.
	Singular			Plural
	First-person (eu)	Second-person (tu)	Third-person (ele / ela / você)	First-person (nós)	Second-person (vós)	Third-person (eles / elas / vocês)
Infinitive
Impersonal	matar
Personal	matar	matares	matar	matarmos	matardes	matarem
Gerund
	matando
Short past participle[1]
Masculine	morto			mortos
Feminine	morta			mortas
Long past participle[2]
Masculine	matado			matados
Feminine	matada			matadas
Indicative
Present	mato	matas	mata	matamos	matais	matam
Imperfect	matava	matavas	matava	matávamos	matáveis	matavam
Preterite	matei	mataste	matou	matamos matámos	matastes	mataram
Pluperfect	matara	mataras	matara	matáramos	matáreis	mataram
Future	matarei	matarás	matará	mataremos	matareis	matarão
Conditional
	mataria	matarias	mataria	mataríamos	mataríeis	matariam
Subjunctive
Present	mate	mates	mate	matemos	mateis	matem
Imperfect	matasse	matasses	matasse	matássemos	matásseis	matassem
Future	matar	matares	matar	matarmos	matardes	matarem
Imperative
Affirmative	-	mata	mate	matemos	matai	matem
Negative (não)	-	mates	mate	matemos	mateis	matem

• ^[1] Used with auxiliary verbs ser and estar;
• ^[2] Used with auxiliary verbs haver and ter.

Quotations

For usage examples of this term, see Citations:matar.

Synonyms

• (to kill): assassinar
• (to destroy): erradicar, destruir, acabar com
• (to cause extreme pain, distress or exhaustion): acabar com, detonar, quebrar, arrebentar
• (to satiate): saciar, satisfazer
• (to break one’s back): arrebentar-se
• (to spend a period of time doing unimportant things): passar
• (to skip class): faltar
• (to solve): resolver, solucionar
• (to stop): parar
• (to pocket): encaçapar
• (to commit suicide): suicidar

---

Spanish

Etymology

Unknown, most likely from Latin mactāre, present active infinitive of mactō (through a Vulgar Latin root *mattāre). Alternatively, possibly from Vulgar Latin *mattare, from Latin mattus. Compare Portuguese and Catalan matar, archaic Italian mattare. Cf. also Italian ammazzare, Spanish mazar.

Verb

matar (first-person singular present mato, first-person singular preterite maté, past participle matado)

1. to put out
2. to kill
3. to butcher
4. to dull
5. to round off
6. to ruin

Conjugation

    Conjugation of matar (See Appendix:Spanish verbs)^{edit data}

infinitive			matar
gerund			matando
past participle				masculine		feminine
		singular		matado		matada
		plural		matados		matadas
		singular			plural
		1st person	2nd person	3rd person	1st person	2nd person	3rd person
indicative		yo	tú vos	él/ella/ello usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ellos/ellas ustedes
	present	mato	matastú matásvos	mata	matamos	matáis	matan
	imperfect	mataba	matabas	mataba	matábamos	matabais	mataban
	preterite	maté	mataste	mató	matamos	matasteis	mataron
	future	mataré	matarás	matará	mataremos	mataréis	matarán
	conditional	mataría	matarías	mataría	mataríamos	mataríais	matarían
subjunctive		yo	tú vos	él/ella/ello usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ellos/ellas ustedes
	present	mate	matestú matésvos1	mate	matemos	matéis	maten
	imperfect (ra)	matara	mataras	matara	matáramos	matarais	mataran
	imperfect (se)	matase	matases	matase	matásemos	mataseis	matasen
	future	matare	matares	matare	matáremos	matareis	mataren
imperative		—	tú vos	usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ustedes
	affirmative		matatú matávos	mate	matemos	matad	maten
	negative		no mates	no mate	no matemos	no matéis	no maten

¹ Argentine and Uruguayan voseo prefers the tú form for the present subjunctive.

    Selected combined forms of matar^{edit data}

These forms are generated automatically and may not actually be used. Pronoun usage varies by region.

		singular			plural
		1st person	2nd person	3rd person	1st person	2nd person	3rd person
with infinitive matar
	dative	matarme	matarte	matarle, matarse	matarnos	mataros	matarles, matarse
	accusative	matarme	matarte	matarlo, matarla, matarse	matarnos	mataros	matarlos, matarlas, matarse
with gerund matando
	dative	matándome	matándote	matándole, matándose	matándonos	matándoos	matándoles, matándose
	accusative	matándome	matándote	matándolo, matándola, matándose	matándonos	matándoos	matándolos, matándolas, matándose
with informal second-person singular imperative mata
	dative	mátame	mátate	mátale	mátanos	not used	mátales
	accusative	mátame	mátate	mátalo, mátala	mátanos	not used	mátalos, mátalas
with formal second-person singular imperative mate
	dative	máteme	not used	mátele, mátese	mátenos	not used	máteles
	accusative	máteme	not used	mátelo, mátela, mátese	mátenos	not used	mátelos, mátelas
with first-person plural imperative matemos
	dative	not used	matémoste	matémosle	matémonos	matémoos	matémosles
	accusative	not used	matémoste	matémoslo, matémosla	matémonos	matémoos	matémoslos, matémoslas
with informal second-person plural imperative matad
	dative	matadme	not used	matadle	matadnos	mataos	matadles
	accusative	matadme	not used	matadlo, matadla	matadnos	mataos	matadlos, matadlas
with formal second-person plural imperative maten
	dative	mátenme	not used	mátenle	mátennos	not used	mátenles, mátense
	accusative	mátenme	not used	mátenlo, mátenla	mátennos	not used	mátenlos, mátenlas, mátense

Related terms

• matanza f
• matarse
• matón
• matado
• rematar

Derived terms

• mataburros m
• matadero m
• matador adj, m
• matamoros adj
• Matamoros

• matamoscas m
• matarratas
• matarratones
• matasanos

---

Swedish

Verb

matar

1. present tense of mata.