digerir
verbCEFR B2
What does “digerir” mean in English?
1.to digest
to digest (food — break down in the stomach; digerir alimentos / lactosa / proteínas)
2.to digest, to process
to digest, to process (figurative: to take in news, information, or an emotional impact)
Example sentences
Algunas personas tienen dificultades para digerir los lácteos debido a la intolerancia a la lactosa.
Some people have difficulty digesting dairy products due to lactose intolerance.
El sistema digestivo tarda entre cuatro y cinco horas en digerir una comida completa.
The digestive system takes between four and five hours to digest a full meal.
Las grasas saturadas son más difíciles de digerir que los carbohidratos simples.
Saturated fats are more difficult to digest than simple carbohydrates.
How to use it
Digerir in the physical sense means 'to digest' — breaking down food in the stomach. Irregular: digiero, digiere. Common in health, nutrition, and biology contexts. Takes a direct object: digerir alimentos, proteínas, lácteos. Distinct from absorber (absorb nutrients) and metabolizar (metabolise).
Common mistake
Digerir is irregular: yo digiero (not *yo digero). The physical sense is straightforward — always takes a food item as direct object. The figurative sense (process news/information) is a separate atom. Don't confuse digerir with absorber (absorb) — digestion precedes absorption in the biological sequence.