Lista de los 170 phrasal verbs en inglés más usados (con ejemplos y traducción)

Hablar inglés con fluidez va más allá de aprender gramática y palabras sueltas: es entender y utilizar expresiones que surgen en conversaciones reales.

En Twenix, lo hemos vivido una y otra vez: profesionales que entienden el inglés «clásico», pero se bloquean cuando escuchan un simple «give up» o «look after». Por eso, aprender los phrasal verbs no es opcional si de verdad quieres hablar inglés fluido en la vida real.

En este artículo, hemos preparado una lista de los 170 phrasal verbs más comunes en inglés, junto a ejemplos de uso y su significado en español para que puedas empezar hoy mismo a dominarlos.

Let’s go!

¿Qué son los phrasal verbs y por qué son tan importantes en inglés?

Un phrasal verb es la combinación de un verbo + una partícula (preposición o adverbio), que juntos crean un significado totalmente nuevo.

Por ejemplo:

• «Give up» no es «dar arriba», sino rendirse.
• «Look after» no es «mirar después», sino cuidar de alguien.

Se usan todo el tiempo en contextos: si trabajas en una empresa internacional, tienes reuniones en inglés o simplemente quieres viajar sin parecer un robot con diccionario, necesitas manejarlos con soltura.

En Twenix, hemos diseñado nuestras clases particulares de inglés para que los estudiantes se enfrenten a estas expresiones de forma natural, hablando, y no memorizando.

Consejos para aprender phrasal verbs en inglés

¿La clave? Contexto y repetición activa.

Un phrasal verb que ves en una lista lo olvidas al día siguiente, pero uno que usas para contar algo de tu día se te queda grabado.

Algunos consejos que siempre damos:

• Agrúpalos por verbo base. Ayuda a encontrar patrones y a recordar significados parecidos, como verás a continuación.
• Crea tus propias frases con situaciones que te suenen familiares. Cuanto más personal sea el ejemplo, más fácil será recordarlo.
• Escúchalos en series, pelis o pódcasts. Cuando los oyes en una conversación real, entiendes mejor cómo y cuándo se usan. No es lo mismo ver «break up» en una lista que escucharlo en medio de una escena de ruptura en tu serie favorita.
• Practícalos en voz alta. No tengas miedo de sonar raro al principio. Cuanto más los uses, más naturales te saldrán.

Y ahora sí, aquí tienes la lista que estabas buscando.

Lista completa de los 170 phrasal verbs más usados en inglés

Phrasal verbs con GET

Phrasal verb	Significado	Ejemplo
Get up	Levantarse	I usually get up at 7 a.m. even on weekends.
Get along (with)	Llevarse bien (con alguien)	They really get along well despite their differences.
Get over	Superar (una situación difícil o enfermedad)	It took her months to get over the breakup.
Get by	Arreglárselas, sobrevivir	I don’t earn much, but I manage to get by.
Get in	Entrar (a un vehículo o lugar cerrado)	She got in the car and drove away.
Get out	Salir (de un vehículo o lugar cerrado)	Get out of the room, it’s not safe!
Get back	Volver, regresar	When did you get back from your trip?
Get away	Escaparse, alejarse	We’re planning to get away for the weekend.
Get ahead	Progresar, avanzar profesionalmente	You need to work hard to get ahead in this company.
Get through	Superar algo complicado / Comunicarse por teléfono	I couldn’t get through the book – it was too long.
Get down to	Ponerse manos a la obra, centrarse en algo	Let’s get down to business and start the meeting.
Get around	Moverse por un sitio / evitar algo	He gets around town by bike.
Get together	Reunirse, quedar con alguien	Let’s get together for lunch next week.
Get off	Bajarse de un transporte / Librarse de un castigo	She got off the train at the last station.
Get on	Subirse a un transporte / Llevarse bien	He got on the bus just in time.

Phrasal verbs con TAKE

Phrasal verb	Significado	Ejemplo
Take off	Despegar (avión) / Quitarse (ropa)	The plane took off on time. / He took off his jacket.
Take off (informal)	Volverse popular rápidamente / Salir corriendo	His career really took off last year. / He saw the police and took off.
Take up	Empezar una actividad nueva / Ocupar espacio o tiempo	I took up yoga last month. / This sofa takes up too much space.
Take over	Asumir el control de algo	She took over the project after the manager left.
Take in	Entender / Asimilar / Acoger	That’s a lot of information to take in. / They took in a stray cat.
Take out	Sacar / Invitar a salir	Could you take the trash out? / I’ll take you out to dinner.
Take back	Devolver / Retractarse	I need to take back this shirt. / I take back what I said.
Take on	Aceptar un reto / Contratar	She took on a new role at work. / We’re taking on new staff.
Take down	Apuntar / Desmontar	Let me take down your number. / They took down the decorations.
Take after	Parecerse a alguien (físico o carácter)	She takes after her father – same sense of humor.

Phrasal verbs con LOOK

Phrasal verb	Significado	Ejemplo
Look after	Cuidar de alguien	She looks after her little brother every afternoon.
Look up	Buscar información (en libro, internet…)	I looked up the word in the dictionary.
Look for	Buscar algo o a alguien	I’m looking for my keys, have you seen them?
Look forward to	Esperar con ilusión algo que ocurrirá	I’m really looking forward to the weekend.
Look out	Tener cuidado, estar atento	Look out! There’s a car coming!
Look into	Investigar, examinar algo	The manager will look into the complaint.
Look up to	Admirar a alguien	She has always looked up to her older sister.
Look down on	Menospreciar, mirar por encima del hombro	He looks down on people who don’t have a degree.
Look back	Recordar, mirar hacia el pasado	When I look back on my childhood, I smile.
Look around	Mirar alrededor, explorar un lugar	We looked around the old town before heading home.

Phrasal verbs con GO

Phrasal verb	Significado	Ejemplo
Go on	Continuar, seguir adelante	Please, go on with your story.
Go out	Salir (de casa, con alguien)	We’re going out for dinner tonight.
Go over	Revisar, repasar	Let’s go over the report before submitting it.
Go back	Volver, regresar	I have to go back to the office this afternoon.
Go through	Pasar por (una experiencia difícil), revisar algo a fondo	She went through a lot last year.
Go off	Sonar (alarma), explotar, estropearse (comida)	The alarm went off at 6 a.m. / This milk has gone off.
Go ahead	Adelante, continuar	If you have a question, go ahead and ask.
Go up	Subir (precios, temperatura), ascender	Prices have gone up again this month.
Go down	Bajar, disminuir / Ser recordado / ser bien recibido	The temperature went down last night.
Go with	Combinar con / Acompañar	This shirt goes with your jeans. / I’ll go with you.

Phrasal verbs con COME

Phrasal verb	Significado	Ejemplo
Come in	Entrar	Please, come in and have a seat.
Come out	Salir / Hacerse público / Resultar	The truth finally came out.
Come up	Surgir (un tema, una oportunidad)	That issue came up during the meeting.
Come across	Encontrarse por casualidad	I came across an old friend at the market.
Come over	Pasarse por un sitio, visitar	Why don’t you come over for dinner tonight?
Come back	Volver	She came back from her trip last night.
Come down with	Caer enfermo con algo	I think I’m coming down with a cold.
Come up with	Inventar, proponer una idea	She came up with a great marketing plan.
Come off	Salir bien / Despegarse (pegatina, etc.)	The plan came off better than expected. / The label came off easily.
Come through	Lograr superar algo difícil / Cumplir una promesa	He really came through in the end and saved the deal.

Phrasal verbs con TURN

Phrasal verb	Significado	Ejemplo
Turn on	Encender algo	Can you turn on the light, please?
Turn off	Apagar algo	Don’t forget to turn off the TV before bed.
Turn up	Aparecer / Subir el volumen	He turned up late to the meeting. / Turn up the radio.
Turn down	Rechazar / Bajar el volumen	She turned down the job offer. / Can you turn down the music?
Turn around	Dar la vuelta / Mejorar algo rápidamente	Turn around and look at this. / The new manager turned the company around.
Turn into	Convertirse en	The caterpillar turned into a butterfly.
Turn over	Voltear / Entregar	Please turn over the paper. / He turned over the keys to the landlord.
Turn out	Resultar / Acudir	It turned out better than we expected. / Thousands turned out to protest.
Turn to	Recurrir a alguien/algo	In tough times, she always turns to her family.
Turn back	Volver atrás	It’s getting dark, we should turn back now.

Phrasal verbs con MAKE

Phrasal verb	Significado	Ejemplo
Make up	Inventar (una historia, excusa) / Reconciliarse	She made up an excuse for being late. / They finally made up.
Make out	Entender, distinguir / Besarse apasionadamente	I couldn’t make out what he was saying. / They were making out in the movie.
Make over	Transformar, renovar	They made over the living room completely.
Make up for	Compensar por algo	He worked extra hours to make up for his absence.
Make into	Convertir algo en otra cosa	They made the garage into a home office.
Make of	Pensar o interpretar algo	What do you make of this situation?
Make do (with)	Arreglárselas con lo que se tiene	We didn’t have much food, but we made do with what we had.
Make out to be	Pretender ser algo / alguien	He makes himself out to be smarter than he is.
Make after	Perseguir	The dog made after the cat as soon as it saw it.
Make away with	Robar y huir	The thieves made away with several valuable paintings.

Phrasal verbs con SET

Phrasal verb	Significado	Ejemplo
Set up	Establecer, organizar	They set up the meeting room before the presentation.
Set off	Partir (de viaje) / Hacer explotar / Activar	We set off early in the morning. / The smoke set off the alarm.
Set out	Emprender un viaje o meta / Exponer	He set out to become a doctor. / She set out her ideas clearly.
Set back	Retrasar / Costar dinero	The accident set us back several weeks. / The repairs set me back $200.
Set in	Comenzar algo negativo	Winter has set in early this year.
Set aside	Apartar, reservar	He set aside some money for the holidays.
Set down	Colocar / Poner por escrito	She set the tray down carefully. / He set down his thoughts in a notebook.
Set against	Enfrentar, oponer	The story sets brother against brother.
Set upon	Atacar	The hikers were set upon by wild animals.
Set forth	Exponer, presentar (formal)	He set forth his vision during the conference.

Phrasal verbs con GIVE

Phrasal verb	Significado	Ejemplo
Give up	Rendirse, dejar de intentar algo	I gave up trying to fix the printer.
Give in	Ceder, rendirse (ante presión)	He finally gave in to their demands.
Give out	Repartir / Agotarse	They gave out free samples at the store. / The batteries gave out.
Give away	Regalar / Revelar un secreto	She gave away her old clothes. / Don’t give away the surprise!
Give off	Despedir, emitir (olor, luz, calor…)	The flowers gave off a lovely scent.
Give back	Devolver algo	Don’t forget to give back the book you borrowed.
Give over to	Dedicar tiempo/espacio a algo	The entire room was given over to storage.
Give on to	Dar a (una calle, jardín…)	My room gives on to the courtyard.
Give it to	Regañar fuertemente	The boss really gave it to him after the mistake.
Give way	Ceder el paso / Colapsar	You must give way at the junction. / The bridge gave way.

Phrasal verbs con CUT

Phrasal verb	Significado	Ejemplo
Cut off	Cortar, desconectar	The phone call was cut off suddenly.
Cut down on	Reducir el consumo de algo	I’m trying to cut down on sugar.
Cut out	Eliminar / Recortar algo	Cut out the pictures from the magazine. / I cut out dairy.
Cut back	Recortar (gastos, consumo)	We had to cut back on our spending.
Cut in	Interrumpir, meterse en una conversación	She kept cutting in while I was speaking.
Cut up	Cortar en pedazos	He cut up the vegetables for the salad.
Cut across	Atajar, tomar un camino más corto	We cut across the field to save time.
Cut into	Interrumpir / Reducir	His comments cut into my time.
Cut out for	Ser apto para algo	I’m not cut out for office work.
Cut off from	Aislar, desconectar	The village was cut off from the rest of the world.

Phrasal verbs con BRING

Phrasal verb	Significado	Ejemplo
Bring up	Mencionar un tema / criar (a un niño)	She brought up an interesting point. / They brought up their children in Spain.
Bring about	Provocar, causar	The new law brought about many changes.
Bring out	Sacar, resaltar	That shirt really brings out your eyes.
Bring down	Hacer caer / Reducir	The scandal brought down the politician. / We need to bring down costs.
Bring in	Introducir / Generar (dinero o personas)	The new product brought in a lot of revenue.
Bring forward	Adelantar (una fecha)	They brought the meeting forward to Monday.
Bring back	Devolver / traer recuerdos	Can you bring back my book? / This song brings back memories.
Bring along	Traer contigo	Don’t forget to bring along your ID.
Bring over	Llevar o traer a alguien a casa	I’ll bring my friend over for dinner.
Bring together	Reunir, unir	The event brought people from all backgrounds together.

Phrasal verbs con CALL

Phrasal verb	Significado	Ejemplo
Call off	Cancelar algo	They called off the wedding at the last minute.
Call back	Devolver una llamada	I’ll call you back in five minutes.
Call out	Llamar la atención / Desafiar públicamente	The manager called out the employee in front of everyone.
Call up	Llamar por teléfono / Recordar	She called up her friend to share the news. / That smell calls up memories.
Call on	Pedir / Visitar / Recurrir	The teacher called on Tom to answer. / We called on our neighbors.
Call for	Requerir, demandar	This situation calls for a quick response.
Call in	Pedir que alguien venga / Llamar al trabajo	They called in an expert. / I had to call in sick.
Call over	Llamar para que se acerque	He called the waiter over to complain.
Call at	Hacer parada en (trenes, buses)	The train calls at several stations.
Call by	Pasar brevemente por un lugar	I’ll call by your office later today.

Phrasal verbs con PICK

Phrasal verb	Significado	Ejemplo
Pick up	Recoger / Aprender / Ligar	I’ll pick you up at 8. / She picked up some Spanish in Mexico. / He tried to pick up someone at the bar.
Pick out	Elegir, seleccionar	She picked out a beautiful dress for the wedding.
Pick on	Molestar, meterse con alguien	The kids at school used to pick on him.
Pick at	Comer con desgana / Hurgar	He was just picking at his food. / Stop picking at that scab!
Pick over	Examinar cuidadosamente (normalmente comida u objetos)	They picked over the fruit before buying.
Pick apart	Criticar en exceso / Analizar en detalle	The critics picked apart the film.
Pick yourself up	Recuperarse emocional o físicamente	It’s time to pick yourself up and keep going.
Pick off	Eliminar uno por uno (objetivos)	The sniper picked off the targets one by one.
Pick up on	Notar, captar	She picked up on his nervousness.
Pick through	Buscar entre cosas	He picked through the box looking for his keys.

Phrasal verbs con CARRY

Phrasal verb	Significado	Ejemplo
Carry on	Continuar	Carry on with your work, please.
Carry out	Llevar a cabo	They carried out a detailed investigation.
Carry over	Transferir, trasladar	The balance will be carried over to the next month.
Carry off	Llevarse / Lograr con éxito	She carried off the award with grace.
Carry around	Llevar encima	He carries around a notebook everywhere.
Carry through	Superar / Sacar adelante	Her determination carried her through the hard times.
Carry forward	Arrastrar a otro periodo	Unused vacation days will be carried forward.
Carry back	Hacer recordar el pasado	This music carries me back to my childhood.
Carry on with	Seguir con algo en particular	Let’s carry on with the lesson.
Carry off (disease)	Llevarse la vida (enfermedad)	The illness carried him off suddenly.

Phrasal verbs con BE

Phrasal verb	Significado	Ejemplo
Be in	Estar en casa o disponible	I’ll be in all afternoon if you want to stop by.
Be out	Estar fuera / No estar disponible	She’s out right now, can I take a message?
Be up	Estar despierto / Haber terminado	I was up until 2 a.m. / Time’s up!
Be over	Haber terminado	The movie is over now, let’s go.
Be off	Estar libre / Haber salido / Cancelar	I’m off today. / The meeting is off.
Be into	Estar interesado en algo	He’s really into jazz lately.
Be back	Regresar	I’ll be back in 10 minutes.
Be out of	No tener algo	We’re out of milk again!
Be down	Estar deprimido / Haber bajado	He’s been down since the breakup. / Sales are down this quarter.
Be on	Estar encendido / En emisión / En cartelera	The lights are on. / What’s on TV tonight? / That film is on at the cinema.

Phrasal verbs con KEEP

Phrasal verb	Significado	Ejemplo
Keep on	Continuar haciendo algo	He kept on talking even after everyone left.
Keep up	Mantener el ritmo / Continuar	Keep up the good work! / I couldn’t keep up with the pace.
Keep out	Mantenerse fuera	Keep out of my room!
Keep in	Mantener en el interior / No dejar salir	They kept the children in during the storm.
Keep back	Retener / Mantenerse alejado	Please keep back from the edge. / He kept back information.
Keep down	Hacer menos ruido / Controlar / Retener	Try to keep your voice down. / She could barely keep the food down.
Keep off	No pisar / Evitar	Keep off the grass! / He was told to keep off alcohol.
Keep to	Ceñirse a algo	Please keep to the plan.
Keep from	Evitar hacer algo	I couldn’t keep from laughing.
Keep away	Mantenerse alejado	Keep away from the fire.

Phrasal verbs con SEE

Phrasal verb	Significado	Ejemplo
See off	Despedirse de alguien que se va	We went to the airport to see them off.
See to	Encargarse de algo	I’ll see to the arrangements.
See through	Ver a través de / No dejarse engañar	She saw through his lies.
See out	Acompañar hasta la salida / Esperar a que algo termine	I’ll see you out. / Let’s see out the final episode.
See over	Inspeccionar	We went to see over the new house.
See about	Ocupare de, considerar	I’ll see about getting tickets.
See in	Recibir algo o a alguien (especialmente en casa)	We always see in the New Year with fireworks.
See beyond	Ver más allá de algo	She could see beyond the surface.
See out (illness)	Sobrevivir, aguantar hasta el final	He managed to see out the illness.

Preguntas frecuentes

¿Cuántos phrasal verbs existen en inglés?

Aunque no hay una cifra oficial, se estima que existen más de 5.000 phrasal verbs en inglés.

¿Es necesario aprender phrasal verbs para hablar inglés?

Sí, totalmente. Los phrasal verbs son parte del inglés cotidiano, y dominarlos te permite sonar más natural, entender mejor a los nativos y expresarte con soltura.

¿Dónde puedo practicar phrasal verbs?

Existen muchas webs y apps, pero si quieres una experiencia más guiada y enfocada en tus objetivos, plataformas como Twenix te ayudan a practicarlos con profesores en clases de 26 minutos centradas en situaciones reales.

Además, en Twenix contamos con varios microcursos específicos de Phrasal Verbs para que puedas aprenderlos de forma clara y práctica.