proteger
verbCEFR B1
What does “proteger” mean in English?
to protect
to protect (keep something safe from harm or loss — proteger el medio ambiente, proteger las especies)
Example sentences
Los gobiernos deberían proteger las zonas naturales con leyes más estrictas antes de que sea demasiado tarde para salvarlas.
Governments should protect natural areas with stricter laws before it is too late to save them.
La nueva normativa protege a las especies en peligro de extinción, pero su aplicación real sigue siendo irregular.
The new regulation protects endangered species, but its actual enforcement remains inconsistent.
Para proteger la calidad del aire, el ayuntamiento ha decidido restringir el tráfico en el centro histórico los fines de semana.
To protect air quality, the council has decided to restrict traffic in the historic centre at weekends.
How to use it
Proteger means 'to protect' — to keep something or someone safe from harm. It is a regular -er verb except for the 1sg present indicative (yo protejo, not *protego). Key collocates: proteger el medio ambiente, proteger las especies en peligro, proteger una zona natural. The related noun is la protección.
Common mistake
The 1sg present indicative is yo protejo — the g is inserted before the -o ending to preserve the hard sound of the stem (like coger → cojo). Students often write *protego, which is incorrect. The imperative (protege tú / proteja usted) and subjunctive (que proteja) are regular from the yo form.