How to use 'hacerse' in Spanish | A Coffee Break with Anabel - Coffee Break Spanish

Summary3 min read

Coffee Break Spanish: How to Use ‘Hacerse’ in Spanish

Host: Anabel (Coffee Break Languages)
Date: September 18, 2025

Episode Overview

In this espresso episode, Anabel explores the versatile Spanish verb hacerse and its multiple uses, particularly focusing on how it translates to “to become,” “to get used to,” and “to manage to get” in English. Through real-life examples, comparisons with similar verbs, and focused explanations, listeners learn the structure, context, and nuances of this essential reflexive verb.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Introduction to “Hacerse” and Episode Origin

Contextual Spark (01:39)
- Anabel recounts a humorous birthday moment that inspired the lesson:
  
  “My colleague said ‘me hago mayor’ – I’m becoming older … but every time I hear those words, I always reply: ‘No te haces mayor, te haces más sabio’ – you are not becoming older, you are becoming wiser.”
  (Anabel, 02:06)
She uses this anecdote to highlight the verb hacerse and its importance in expressing change in Spanish.

2. Hacerse = “To Become” (Change in State or Status)

General Use (02:30)
- Hacerse is used for changes in:
  - Age (“to become older”)
  - Profession (“to become a doctor”)
  - Wealth, religion, ideology, and more
Example & Explanation (03:04)
- “Clara se ha hecho doctora y se está haciendo muy rica.”
  - Translation: “Clara has become a doctor and she’s getting/ becoming very rich.”
  - hacerse doctora = became a doctor (change in profession)
  - se está haciendo muy rica = is becoming/getting very rich (change in wealth)
  - Shows use with both noun (doctora) and adjective (rica).
Another Example (04:05)
- “¿Te has hecho vegetariano?”
  - Translation: “Have you become vegetarian?”
  - Emphasizes reflexive structure and use with adjectives.

3. Hacerse a = “To Get Used To”

Introducing the Preposition “a” (05:02)
- By adding a to hacerse, you form “hacerse a,” meaning to get used to something.
Comparison with “acostumbrarse a”
- Both hacerse a and acostumbrarse a are interchangeable.
  
  “Here you have two verbs for the price of one!”
  (Anabel, 05:40)
Examples
- “No me hago a los inviernos fríos.”
  - Translation: “I can’t get used to cold winters.”
- “No me acostumbro a los inviernos fríos.”
  - Equivalent in meaning.

4. Hacerse con = “To Manage to Obtain/Get”

Function with “con” (07:09)
- “Hacerse con” is used for obtaining something that’s difficult to get.
  - It translates as “to manage to get” or “to obtain.”
Example
- “¿Te has hecho ya con las entradas para el concierto?”
  - Translation: “Have you managed to get the concert tickets yet?”
  - The “ya” indicates “yet” or “already” in this context.

5. Recap and Listener Participation

Summary Exercise (08:28)
- Anabel reviews the uses, prompting listeners to recall the structures and their English meanings:
  1. Hacerse + adjective/noun → “To become”
  2. Hacerse a + noun/adjective → “To get used to”
  3. Hacerse con + object → “To manage to obtain or get”
- She revisits the interchangeable acostumbrarse a, reinforcing comprehension.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On the flexibility of hacerse:

“As you can see, hacerse is a very versatile verb and can be combined in many ways.”
(Anabel, 08:00)
Listener encouragement:

“Mucho ánimo y hasta la próxima.” (“Lots of encouragement, and until next time!”)
(Anabel, 10:54)

Timestamps for Important Segments

[01:39] – Introduction to the episode and inspiration for discussing “hacerse”
[03:04] – Example: “Clara se ha hecho doctora y se está haciendo muy rica.”
[04:05] – Example: “¿Te has hecho vegetariano?”
[05:02] – Introduction of “hacerse a” and comparison with “acostumbrarse a”
[06:17] – Example use: “No me hago a los inviernos fríos”
[07:09] – “Hacerse con” and managing to get something
[08:28] – Recap of all structures and listener quiz/review
[09:20] – Encouragement & outro to continue learning

Episode Tone & Language

Anabel maintains a warm, friendly, and motivating tone throughout. She employs relatable examples, calls back to real-life language moments, and encourages active listener participation, making grammatical points memorable and accessible for learners at various levels.

In Summary

This espresso episode is a concise yet thorough exploration of “hacerse,” providing clear examples, structural explanations, comparisons with similar verbs, and practical contexts. It’s ideal for learners wanting to sharpen their understanding of an essential Spanish verb – and for those aiming to sound more natural and nuanced in their spoken Spanish.

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Transcript6 lines

[00:00]
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Welcome to Coffee Break Spanish yo soy Annabel and I am very excited for today's little espresso espresso episode in between main seasons of Coffee Break Spanish. Now, last week we celebrated a colleague's birthday and something they said really sparked my inner teacher. They said me ago Mayor, I'm becoming older. It was said in a jokey way, but every time I hear someone saying those words on their birthday, I always reply the same no te haces mayor. Te haces mas savio. You are not becoming ova, you are becoming wiser. Well, so far not many people looked convinced about my words, but this little exchange made me think of the verb hacerse and how we can use it in Spanish. Hacerse is a reflexive verb and it's quite versatile. The first use I want to highlight is the one my colleague used, hacerse to mean to become. Now, there are different ways to translate to become in Spanish, but we choose hacerse when we want to express a change in age, like in this case, profession, wealth, religion, ideology, and so on, let's see some other examples to put this into context. The first one. Clara se ha echo doctora y sesta haciendo muy rica. Clara se haycho. Doctora se haycho. Here we can see the perfect tense of the verb hacerse, and it means Clara has become a doctor. It continues saying, y seendo muy rica se estaciendo. This is the continuous tense we are using star plus the gerund of hacerse se esta haciendo, and she's becoming or she's getting very rich. Then clara se a echo doctora y estaciendo muyrica means Clara has become a doctor and she's getting very rich in the sense of she's becoming very rich. Perfecto. And also in this sentence, we can see that after hacerse we can have a noun don't doctora or an adjective, rica. Now, let's see another example, because I know this can be a little bit tricky. The next one is te as. Here again, the perfect tense of the verb hacerse. And pay attention to that te as. Remember, that is a reflexive verb. This means, have you become vegetariano? Vegetarian. Have you become vegetarian? Terce tu vegetariano. And here after hacerse, we have the adjective vegetariano. Perfecto. Ahora escuando un piesa la diversiono. Now is when the fun starts, because by adding the preposition A to hacerse, we get one of my favorite verbs, and it's very easy to use. I'm talking about hacerse A, which means to get used to something. It is actually very similar to acostumbrarse A, and in fact, both are interchangeable. And if this is the first time that you hear acostumbrarse A, don't worry, because it works like hacerse A. So here you have two verbs for the price of one. Now, both verbs mean to get used to something. Beamos une genplo. Now, if we want to say I cannot get used to cold winters, we are going to start by using the verb hacerse A. So we say, no me ago a los in biernos frios. I can't get used to, or I don't get used to cold winters. No me ago a los in viernos frios. Here we are using the verb hacerse A. No me ago a and then los imbiernos frios. If we want to use acostumbrarcea, then then it will be very similar. No me a cos tumbro a los imbiernos frios. Both sentences no me ago a los imbiernos frios and no me agos tumbro a los imbiernos frios. Both mean I cannot get used to cold winters. Bueno, Pues muy bien. Now, what if we use the preposition con instead of a hacer se Con means to obtain something difficult to get. In the majority of the cases, we can translate it as to manage to get something or to manage to obtain. Let's see this in context. In our example, teas hecho y centradas para el con. Teas hecho con is have you managed to get? Then we have that Y that is going to be translated as yet. And then la centradas padal concierto the concert tickets. So it means have you managed to get the concert tickets yet? Remember that the yet is yas hecho ya con la centradas para concerto. Bueno. As you can see, hacerse is a very versatile verb and can be combined in many ways. There are other interesting uses of hacerse in Spanish. In fact, we explore one use of hacerse that is a little bit more advanced in coffee break Spanish level four. So if you want to continue improving your Spanish and to get to know this verb a little bit better, you be sure to check that out. But we haven't finished yet. No emos terminado toda via. Vamos ARR pasar lo que mos visto. We are going to review what we have seen today, but you are going to help me. I'm going to tell you the infinitive of the verb, the structure, and you'll tell me how we translate it. So the first one is hacerse, followed by an adjective or a noun. How do we translate this? To become. To become is a cerse plus an adjective or a noun. Perfecto. Now, hacerse a a followed by the preposition a esos. We translate it as to get used to and for extra points. Do you remember the other way we can say hacerse a in Spanish? A costumbrarce a? So hacerse a and acostumbrarse a both mean to get used to estuvendo. Now the last one, hacer se con. How do we translate hacerse followed by the preposition con? To obtain something difficult to get. So to manage to get something or to manage to obtain something. Pues muy buen trabajo menudo, epistodio, estodo por el momento. If you would like to keep improving your Spanish, you can receive regular free mini lessons straight to your inbox by signing up to our newsletter. Just go to coffeebreaklanguages.com Spanish y Ademas. Don't forget to subscribe wherever you are listening to this episode for more content like this one. Muchas gracias por quedarte hast al final and I hope you have enjoyed learning about this verb hacerse and some ways in which it can be used. Hopefully you'll be able to use it soon. Mucho animo y astra approxima.
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You have been listening to a Coffee Break Languages production for the radiolingua Network Copyright 2025 Radiolingua Limited Recording Copyright 2025 Radiolingua Limited all rights reserved.
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