motivar
verbCEFR B1
What does “motivar” mean in English?
to motivate
to motivate (someone else — transitive; teacher motivates students)
Example sentences
La profesora conseguía motivar incluso a los estudiantes más apáticos porque conectaba cada tema con situaciones reales que les afectaban directamente.
The teacher managed to motivate even the most apathetic students because she connected each topic with real situations that directly affected them.
Es importante que los métodos de enseñanza motiven a los alumnos a participar activamente, en lugar de simplemente recibir información de forma pasiva.
It is important that teaching methods motivate students to take part actively, rather than simply receiving information passively.
Los videojuegos educativos están diseñados para motivar a los estudiantes a través de la gamificación, utilizando puntos, niveles y recompensas para mantener el interés.
Educational video games are designed to motivate students through gamification, using points, levels, and rewards to maintain interest.
How to use it
Motivar means 'to motivate' and is a transitive verb that takes a person or group as its direct object. In educational contexts it describes what teachers, methods, tasks, or environments do to students: a teacher motivates students, a reward system motivates learners. The key distinction at B1 is between motivar (transitive, agent acts on someone) and motivarse (reflexive, the learner generates their own motivation). Motivar also appears as the base for the noun motivación, which is extremely common in discussions of learning.
Common mistake
Motivar is transitive — it needs a direct object: 'el método motiva a los alumnos', not '*el método motiva'. Don't confuse with animar (to encourage, more informal and situational) or incentivar (to incentivise, often financial). For the learner self-motivating, switch to the reflexive: motivarse.