"Around" is one of those English words that's nearly impossible to provide a Spanish equivalent for without some context. Not only can it function as an adverb or preposition, it also can be a part of a phrasal verb or otherwise not have much meaning of its own.

This lesson looks at the most common ways in which the idea of "around" might be conveyed. These selections should not be looked at as a complete list, but rather as a springboard encouraging you to think about what "around" means in English before you try translating it.


Here are the common ways "around" is used:

To indicate in all directions or surrounding something:Alrededor, usually followed by de, is the most common way to express the concept, although similar phrases such as en derredor and en rededor and miscellaneous phrases such as en contorno can also be used. These phrases frequently mean "in the vicinity" as well; when translating from Spanish, you need to pay attention to context.

• Apollo 8 circled around the moon 10 times. El Apolo 8 dio diez vueltas alrededor de la luna.
• One way of finding out if your patio is infested is to walk outside, around the house, while wearing white socks. Una manera de determinar si el patio es infestado es para caminar afuera, alrededor de la casa, mientras llevando calcetines blancos.
• The skin around the eyes requires special care. La piel alrededor de los ojos requiere cuidados especiales.
• The two desperately looked around. Los dos miraron desesperados alrededor.

If referring to the distance around something, circunferencia can be used: It's 12 feet around.

Tiene doce pies de circunferencia.

To indicate motion within a region: Your choice of translation can depend on how the motion occurs.

• They showed me around the office of the president. Me mostraron la oficina del presidente.
• They walked all around the area and arrived very late. Andaron por todas partes del area y llegaron muy tarde.
• A trip around the United States and Canada can be expensive. Un viaje por Estados Unidos y Canadá puede ser caro.

To indicate imprecision: As explained in our lesson on approximation, Spanish has several ways of indicating that a number or quantity isn't exact.

• My grandfather is around 75 years old. Mi abuelo tiene aproximadamente 75 años de edad.
• The drug lab produced around 500 kilograms of the methamphetamine per week. El narcolaboratorio producía a la semana cerca de 500 kilogramos de la metanfetamina.
• The digital content center will create around 100 employment positions. El centro de contenidos digitales creará unos cien puestos de trabajo.

To indicate existence: "Around" can be used to indicate the mere existence of someone or something. In such cases an existential form of haber or estar can be used. If "around" also suggests the vicinity, aquí or a similar word can be included.

• In those days there were almost no televisions or video games around. En esos tiempos casi no había televisores ni videojuegos.
• Maribel was around a minute ago. Maribel estaba aquí hace un minuto.

Having no translatable meaning: As in a few examples above, there are times that "around" can be deleted from a sentence without appreciably changing the meaning of the sentence. In such cases, feel free to omit it in translation or otherwise adapt your Spanish sentence to the tone of what was said: My mother will be around at home. Mi madre va a estar en casa.

In phrases: "Around" is a part of numerous English phrases. When translating, you will probably be best off to think of a synonym and translate that. A few examples:

• I hope he doesn't beat around the bush. Espero que no se vaya por las ramas.
• He likes to fool around with computers. Le gusta entretenerse con computadoras.
• I didn't get around to studying all night. Evité estudiar durante toda la noche.
• He's stubborn, but he finally came around. Es terco, pero finalmente cambió de opinión.

Sources: Most of the sample sentences are adapted from the writing of native speakers. Among the sources consulted for this lesson were Proceso.com.mx, Carmen Olmo, Tarsicio Ocampo, Pobladores.com, enFemenino, Cruceros y Más and Taringa.net.