Spanish word of the week: discutir

discutir VERB to argue, to quarrel; to discuss

Discutir is a word that could trip you up. If a Spanish-speaking friend says that two people están discutiendo and you think it means ‘discussing’, you might be surprised at how loud they’re talking! In fact, it often means to argue or to quarrel:

Discutieron, pero la cosa no fue a más. They argued, but things didn’t get out of hand.

Dos horas después de discutir con su padre, se marchó. Two hours after having an argument with his father, he left.

Siempre discuten por dinero. They’re always quarrelling about money.

It can also mean to discuss in many contexts:

No quiso discutir con su jefa esa cuestión. He didn’t want to discuss that question with his boss.