How to Use the Spanish Verb Quitar

With a basic meaning of to remove, the everyday Spanish verb quitar has a wider variety of meanings than the simple translation might suggest. Common translations, depending on the context, include to remove, to take away, to diminish, to eliminate, and to take off. Although it may have a distant etymological connection with the English word quiet, quitar doesnt have a related meaning, although it can be used to mean quit when used in a particular phrase as shown in the final entry below. Quitar Meaning ‘To Remove’ To remove is the simplest and most common meaning for quitar, and the other meanings overlap with it. Note how you can vary the translation considerably depending on the context. For example, while it is common in English to say you can remove your clothes, you can also take them off. But while you can remove a television from your room, you dont take it off, although you might take it out. Me quità © los zapatos y no sà © dà ³nde los dejà ©. (I took off my shoes and dont know where I left them.)Quiero que quites esos libros de mi casa. (I want you to take those books out of my house.)Con toda delicadeza y cuidado, Peter le quità ³ la astilla con su cuchillo. (Very delicately and carefully, Peter removed the sliver with his knife.)Un paciente necesita tomar la medicina por 7 a 10 dà ­as para quitar la infeccià ³n completamente. (A patient needs to take the medicine for seven to 10 days in order to completely get rid of the infection.) ¡Quà ­tate de mi camino! (Get out of my way! Literally, get yourself out of my path!) Quitar for ‘Take’ or ‘Take Away’ In some contexts, removal can suggest the taking of something. Where the taking is involuntary, quitar sometimes has the meaning of to rob. Robin Hood le quità ³ el dinero a los ricos. (Robin Hood stole money from the rich.)Le quitaron el record a Palermo. (They took the record away from Palermo.)El ladrà ³n me quità ³ todas mis pertenencias. (The thief robbed me of all my belongings.)El trabajo me quita muchas horas del dà ­a. (Work uses up many of my hours of the day.)La gente nos quitaba las bolsas de manzanas y melocotones de las manos. (The people took the bags of apples and peaches out of our hands.) Using Quitar With Reference to Feelings Quitar sometimes refers to the removal or elimination of emotions or feelings. Translations can vary with the feeling affected. Podemos disfrutar un sorbo que nos quitarà ¡ la sed. (We can enjoy a sip that will quench our thirst.)Quiero quitar el dolor de muelas sin ir al dentista. (I want to end my dental pain without going to the dentist.)Las Tic Tacs tienen solo dos calorias cada una y te quitan el hambre. (Tic Tacs have only two calories apiece and take away your hunger.)Tenà ­amos un montà ³n de informes favorables que nos quitaron el miedo. (We had a mountain of good news that overcame our fear.)Los drogas me quitaron la felicidad de abrazar a mi hijo. (The drugs robbed me of the joy of hugging my son.) Quitar for Quitting The phrase quitarse de, which literally means to remove oneself from, can be used to mean to quit when followed by a noun or infinitive. Dejar is used more often for this purpose, however. Hoy es el dà ­a de quitarse de Facebook. (Today is the day to quit Facebook.)Recuerdo que se quità ³ de fumar por un problema de pulmà ³n. (I remember that she quit smoking because of a lung problem.) Grammar Tips for Quitar You may understand some of the sample sentences better if you have a strong understanding of indirect objects and reflexive pronouns, as quitar is often used with them. Possessive adjectives are also important to learn when el and la are used as the equivalent of words such as my and your.