fascinar

to fascinate

verb fahs-see-NAHR Rare

Also means

to captivate

Usage Note

Fascinar follows the same 'reverse-subject' pattern as gustar: the thing that fascinates is the grammatical subject, so you say me fascina el mar ('the sea fascinates me'), not yo fascino el mar. It is stronger than interesar and implies near-magical captivation. The cognate English 'to fascinate' makes it an easy word to remember, but note that the Spanish verb is transitive in this reverse-subject construction.

Examples

"Me fascina la cultura española."

Natural Translation

Spanish culture fascinates me.

Literal Translation

To-me fascinates the Spanish culture.

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