Ayúdame a subir, ¿sí?
Help me up, okay?
Someone can't climb onto the edge of a fountain alone, and ayúdame a plus a verb asks a companion for help with exactly that.
From Ghostbusters: Apocalipsis Fantasma · Spanish audio
Spanish vocabularyA1 · Beginner
How to say "help" in Spanish
ayudar
verbnoun: la ayudahelp me: ayúdame
"Help" in Spanish is ayudar as a verb and la ayuda as a noun. To ask a friend for a hand, say Ayúdame (help me), and with a stranger, ¿Me puede ayudar? In an emergency, people shout ¡Socorro!
Hear "ayúdame" in real movie scenes
Two people asking for a hand. Each video starts and stops on that line.
Ayúdame, Gary.
Help me, Gary.
At home, called out from the doorway, a name and ayúdame make a complete request.
From The Break-Up · Spanish audio
Ways to ask for help in Spanish
Pick the one that fits the person and the situation.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| ¡Ayúdame! | Help me! (to a friend) |
| ¿Me ayudas? | Can you help me? (informal) |
| ¿Me puede ayudar? | Can you help me? (polite, to usted) |
| ¡Socorro! | Help! (emergency) |
| Gracias por tu ayuda. | Thanks for your help. |
Tip: In stores, staff often greet you with ¿Le puedo ayudar en algo?, which means "Can I help you with anything?"
Grammar: ayudar, ayúdame
Four points that cover most requests for help.
A regular -ar verb
ayudo, ayudas, ayuda, ayudamos, ayudáis, ayudan. No stem change to learn.Ayudar a + verb
To say what the help is for, add a and a verb: Ayúdame a limpiar la mesa.Where the accent goes
Command + me needs an accent: ayúdame. Infinitive + me doesn't: ¿Puedes ayudarme?Ayuda, the noun
la ayuda is help: Gracias por tu ayuda. It's also the verb form for él and ella: Ella me ayuda.Example sentences
Sentences from the Wordy Spanish course. Tap to listen.
Ayúdame a limpiar la mesa.
Help me clean the table.
Voy a ayudar.
I'm going to help.
Me marcho, pero antes quiero ayudar.
I'm leaving, but first I want to help.
Necesito que me ayudes.
I need you to help me.
Common mistakes
Mistakes learners make with this word, and how to fix them.
✗Ayudame
✓Ayúdame
With me attached, the stress lands three syllables from the end, so it needs the accent.
✗Ayúdame limpiar la mesa
✓Ayúdame a limpiar la mesa
Ayudar takes a before the next verb.
✗¿Me puedes ayudarme?
✓¿Puedes ayudarme?
Use the pronoun once, before puedes or after ayudar: *¿Me puedes ayudar?* works too.
Practice: 3 quick exercises
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1 of 3 · Watch and choose
What do you hear in the video?
The other 34 exercises on this topic are in the app.
How to remember it
Say ayuda slowly: a-YOU-da. When you ask for help, the person you need is the YOU in the middle.
Questions about "help" in Spanish
How do you say help in Spanish?
As a verb, ayudar. As a noun, la ayuda. "Help me" is ayúdame.
How do you say "can you help me" in Spanish?
¿Me ayudas? with a friend, or ¿Me puede ayudar? with a stranger or someone you call usted.
What do you shout for help in Spanish?
¡Socorro! is the classic emergency shout. ¡Ayuda! works too.
Why does ayúdame have an accent?
Adding me puts the stress three syllables from the end, and Spanish always marks that with an accent. Ayudarme is stressed on the second-to-last syllable, a-yu-DAR-me, so it needs none.
