frustrarse
verbCEFR B1
What does “frustrarse” mean in English?
to get frustrated / to feel frustrated
to get frustrated / to feel frustrated (frustrarse con/por; reflexive experiencer; implies blocked effort or unmet expectation; more sustained than enfadarse)
Example sentences
Me frustro mucho cuando alguien no me deja terminar las frases porque siento que lo que digo no importa.
I get very frustrated when someone won't let me finish my sentences because I feel like what I say doesn't matter.
Se frustró bastante al ver que, a pesar de todos sus esfuerzos, la situación entre ellos no mejoraba nada.
He became quite frustrated when he saw that, despite all his efforts, the situation between them was not improving at all.
Es completamente normal frustrarse cuando una relación pasa por una época difícil — lo importante es no rendirse sin intentar solucionarlo.
It is completely normal to get frustrated when a relationship goes through a difficult period — what matters is not giving up without trying to resolve it.
How to use it
Frustrarse means 'to get frustrated / to feel frustrated'. The reflexive marker se shows the subject as the experiencer; the transitive frustrar means 'to frustrate someone'. The cause is introduced by con (the person or thing) or por (the reason): me frustro con esta situación / me frustro por no poder explicarme bien. Frustrarse implies a sense of blocked effort or unmet expectation — it is more intense and longer-lasting than enfadarse (momentary anger) and more cognitively focused than enojarse.
Common mistake
Frustrarse and enfadarse both describe negative emotional states but differ in focus: enfadarse is acute anger directed at someone; frustrarse is a longer-lasting sense of blocked effort or unmet need. The reflexive se is not optional in either verb.