hacer hincapié en
verbCEFR B2
What does “hacer hincapié en” mean in English?
to emphasise, to stress
to emphasise, to stress (formal; hincapié only occurs in this phrase; preposition always en)
Example sentences
El director hizo hincapié en la importancia de respetar los plazos establecidos.
The director emphasised the importance of meeting the established deadlines.
Conviene hacer hincapié en que estos datos son estimaciones, no cifras definitivas.
It is worth emphasising that these figures are estimates, not final numbers.
El informe hace hincapié en los avances logrados, pero también reconoce las limitaciones.
The report emphasises the progress made, but also acknowledges the limitations.
How to use it
Hacer hincapié en means 'to emphasise', 'to stress', 'to place emphasis on'. It is a formal register collocation common in speeches, academic writing, and formal debate. Construction: hacer hincapié en + noun: 'hacer hincapié en la necesidad de…', 'hacer hincapié en que…'. It is stronger than mencionar (to mention) but similar in weight to subrayar or destacar — it signals that the following content is important enough to single out explicitly.
Common mistake
Hincapié has no common English equivalent as an isolated noun — it only appears in hacer hincapié en. Don't try to break the collocation: *hacer el hincapié or *poner hincapié are not used. The preposition is always en: 'hacer hincapié en algo', never *hacer hincapié de or *sobre.