Introduction
Irritarse means “to get irritated”, and it is one of the verbs you will use again and again in Spanish. Irritarse means to get irritated or annoyed, and it is the reflexive partner of irritar: the feeling happens to you. It takes con or por: irritarse con su hermano, irritarse por el ruido. It is a common verb for everyday frustrations. This page shows irritarse in real sentences, in short dialogues, and in the mistakes learners make most often, and it finishes with a ten-question quiz so you can test yourself. Every sentence below comes with its English translation, and every form is the correct present-tense form unless the sentence is clearly marked as past or future. For a first taste: “Me irrito con su hermano por nada.” — I get irritated with his brother for nothing.
Irritarse in real example sentences
The twelve sentences below are grouped by how irritarse is used. Read each one out loud, then read the translation. If a sentence feels useful, copy it into your own notebook with one small change — a different time, a different person, a different place — and you have a new sentence of your own.
In the present: everyday use
These sentences use irritarse in the present tense, which is how you will meet it most often: routines, facts, and things happening now.
“Me irrito con su hermano por nada.” — I get irritated with his brother for nothing.
“¿Te irritas por el ruido de la calle?” — Do you get irritated because of the street noise?
“Se irrita mucho en el tráfico.” — He/she gets irritated a lot in the traffic.
“Nosotros nos irritamos con las preguntas del niño.” — We get irritated with the child's questions.
Talking about the past
The present is not the only tense you need. These sentences show irritarse in the past, so you can talk about what already happened.
“Ayer, yo me irrité con su hermano por nada.” — Yesterday, I got irritated with his brother for nothing. (preterite)
“Antes, él se irritaba por el ruido de la calle.” — Before, he used to get irritated because of the street noise. (imperfect)
Plans and things already done
These sentences look forward, or look back at something already finished. Notice how the verb form changes while the meaning of irritarse stays the same.
“Mañana, nosotros nos irritaremos mucho en el tráfico.” — Tomorrow, we will get irritated a lot in the traffic. (future)
“¿Tú te has irritado con las preguntas del niño?” — Have you got irritated with the child's questions? (present perfect)
More everyday uses
Four more present-tense sentences, covering the remaining persons, so you can see the whole table in action.
“Vosotros os irritáis con su hermano por nada.” — You get irritated with his brother for nothing.
“Ellos se irritan por el ruido de la calle.” — They get irritated because of the street noise.
“Yo me irrito mucho en el tráfico.” — I get irritated a lot in the traffic.
“Mi padre se irrita con las preguntas del niño.” — My father gets irritated with the child's questions.
Irritarse in context
Single sentences teach you the forms. Dialogues teach you when to use them. Read the short conversation below, then the paragraph that follows, and notice how irritarse appears naturally, without anyone stopping to think about conjugation.
A short dialogue
Marta: “¿Tú te irritas por el ruido de la calle?” — Do you get irritated because of the street noise?
Pedro: “Sí, yo me irrito con su hermano por nada.” — Yes, I get irritated with his brother for nothing.
Marta: “Nosotros nos irritamos con las preguntas del niño.” — We get irritated with the child's questions.
Pedro: “Y ellos se irritan por el ruido de la calle.” — And they get irritated because of the street noise.
Marta: “Vosotros os irritáis mucho en el tráfico.” — You get irritated a lot in the traffic.
Pedro: “Sí, y él se irrita con su hermano por nada.” — Yes, and he gets irritated with his brother for nothing.
A short paragraph
Se irrita con su hermano por nada, y nosotros nos irritamos con las preguntas del niño. Yo me irrito por el ruido de la calle, y ellos se irritan mucho en el tráfico. Irritarse is part of everyday life, because get irritated is something people do in work, at home and with friends, in the present, the past and the future.
Common mistakes with irritarse
These are the errors learners actually make with irritarse. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why the correction matters.
Wrong: “Yo irrito con su hermano por nada.” Right: “Yo me irrito con su hermano por nada.” Why: Irritarse is reflexive, so the pronoun me is required: without it the verb means something else, or nothing at all.
Wrong: “Ayer yo irrito por el ruido de la calle.” Right: “Ayer yo irrité por el ruido de la calle.” Why: The present and the preterite are different tenses: irrito is happening now, while irrité is a finished action in the past. Use the preterite with ayer.
Wrong: “Treating irritarse and irritar as identical in every context.” Right: “Irritarse means to get irritated, while irritar means to irritate someone else.” Why: They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: irritarse fits sentences such as Me irrito con su hermano por nada, while irritar belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
Wrong: “Yo soy irritado por el ruido de la calle.” Right: “Yo he irritado por el ruido de la calle.” Why: Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he irritado, has irritado, ha irritado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
Wrong: “De niño, yo irrité mucho en el tráfico todos los días.” Right: “De niño, yo irritaba mucho en el tráfico todos los días.” Why: For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (irritaba), not the preterite. The preterite (irrité) is for one finished action.
Quiz: irritarse in use
Ten questions on irritarse in real sentences. Choose the correct answer for each one, then check the answer key. Every answer is explained.
1. Complete the sentence: “Vosotros ______ con su hermano por nada.” (You get irritated with his brother for nothing.)
- (a) os irritáis
- (b) me irrito
- (c) te irritas
Answer: os irritáis — The vosotros/as form of irritarse in the present tense is os irritáis.
2. Complete the sentence: “Ellos ______ por el ruido de la calle.” (They get irritated because of the street noise.)
- (a) te irritas
- (b) se irritan
- (c) me irrito
Answer: se irritan — The ellos/ellas/Uds. form of irritarse in the present tense is se irritan.
3. Complete the sentence (preterite): “Ayer yo ______ con su hermano por nada.” (Yesterday I got irritated with his brother for nothing.)
- (a) te irritaste
- (b) se irritó
- (c) me irrité
Answer: me irrité — In the preterite, the yo form of irritarse is me irrité.
4. Complete the sentence (imperfect): “Antes, él ______ por el ruido de la calle.” (Before, he used to get irritated because of the street noise.)
- (a) se irritaba
- (b) me irrito
- (c) te irritabas
Answer: se irritaba — In the imperfect, the él/ella/Ud. form of irritarse is se irritaba.
5. Complete the sentence (future): “Mañana, nosotros ______ mucho en el tráfico.” (Tomorrow we will get irritated a lot in the traffic.)
- (a) te irritarás
- (b) nos irritaremos
- (c) me irritaré
Answer: nos irritaremos — In the future, the nosotros/as form of irritarse is nos irritaremos.
6. What does irritarse mean in English?
- (a) to get irritated
- (b) to get involved
- (c) to irritate someone else
Answer: to get irritated — Irritarse means “to get irritated”. The other options are the meanings of different verbs.
7. Which sentence is correct?
- (a) Yo irrito con su hermano por nada.
- (b) Ellos se irrita por el ruido de la calle.
- (c) Yo me irrito con su hermano por nada.
Answer: Yo me irrito con su hermano por nada. — “Yo me irrito con su hermano por nada.” is correct. The other two sentences contain the mistakes explained in the section above.
8. How do you say “I get irritated with his brother for nothing.” in Spanish?
- (a) Mi padre se irrita con las preguntas del niño.
- (b) Me irrito con su hermano por nada.
- (c) Se irritan con su hermano por nada.
Answer: Me irrito con su hermano por nada. — “Me irrito con su hermano por nada.” is the correct translation.
9. What is the nosotros form of irritarse in the present tense?
- (a) me irrito
- (b) te irritas
- (c) nos irritamos
Answer: nos irritamos — The nosotros form is nos irritamos.
10. Which of these sentences is in the present tense?
- (a) Mañana, nosotros nos irritaremos mucho en el tráfico.
- (b) Me irrito con su hermano por nada.
- (c) Ayer, yo me irrité con su hermano por nada.
Answer: Me irrito con su hermano por nada. — “Me irrito con su hermano por nada.” is in the present tense. The other two are in the preterite and the future.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say 'I get irritated with his brother for nothing' in Spanish?
Say 'Me irrito con su hermano por nada'. For a routine, add a time expression: 'Me irrito con su hermano por nada todos los días'.
How do you say 'He gets irritated because of the street noise' in Spanish?
Say 'Él se irrita por el ruido de la calle'. The subject comes first, and the verb agrees with it: él takes se irrita.
What is the difference between irritarse and irritar?
Irritarse means to get irritated, while irritar means to irritate someone else. They are easy to confuse because they appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use irritarse when you mean to get irritated, as in 'Me irrito con su hermano por nada', and use irritar for to irritate someone else.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of irritarse — every tense of irritarse in one place.
- Irritarse in the present tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Spanish verbs — the hub for every Spanish verb on VerbFlow.
- Verb quiz — test yourself on irritarse and other verbs.
- Conjugation practice — drill the forms of irritarse until they are automatic.