fascinar
verbCEFR B2
What does “fascinar” mean in English?
to fascinate, to captivate
to fascinate, to captivate (gustar-type; me fascina = I am fascinated by; indirect object person, subject the fascinating thing)
Example sentences
Me fascina la forma en que el lenguaje refleja las estructuras de poder de una sociedad.
I am fascinated by the way language reflects the power structures of a society.
A los estudiantes les fascinaba la capacidad del profesor para explicar conceptos complejos con ejemplos cotidianos.
The students were fascinated by the teacher's ability to explain complex concepts using everyday examples.
Lo que más nos fascina de esta tecnología es su potencial para transformar la forma en que aprendemos.
What fascinates us most about this technology is its potential to transform the way we learn.
How to use it
Fascinar works like gustar: the thing that fascinates is the grammatical subject, and the person fascinated is the indirect object: me fascina la lingüística (linguistics fascinates me). At B2 it is used to express intense intellectual or aesthetic interest. Key patterns: me/te/le fascina + noun (singular subject), me/te/le fascinan + plural noun. The infinitive construction is also productive: me fascina escuchar música en directo. Don't confuse with gustar (to like — milder, broader) — fascinar is stronger, implying a deeper pull of interest or wonder.
Common mistake
Fascinar follows the gustar structure — the person is the indirect object (me, te, le, nos, os, les), and the fascinating thing is the subject. A common error is *yo fascino la ciencia (treating fascinar like a regular transitive verb). Singular noun → fasciNA; plural noun → fasciNAN. Distinguish fascinar (deep intellectual pull) from interesar (to interest — milder).