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explicar

to explain

verb ehks-plee-KAHR Common
Communication Speech

Origin: From Latin explicare, 'to unfold.'

Usage Note

Explicar follows regular -ar conjugation but note the spelling change in the first-person preterite: expliqué (not explicé), to keep the hard 'k' sound before -é. The reflexive explicarse can mean 'to make oneself understood' or informally 'to account for something': no me lo explico ('I can't figure it out').

Examples

"El profesor explicó la lección con claridad."

Natural Translation

The teacher explained the lesson clearly.

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