Spanish Phrase
Te devuelvo la llamada de hace un rato.
Meaning
Literally, ‘I return the call to you that was made a short time ago.’ It’s used to let someone know you’re calling back after they tried to reach you earlier.
When to use
Use this phrase when you missed a call or when you’re calling back shortly after the original call. It’s common in both personal and professional contexts to acknowledge the previous attempt.
✦Grammar Breakdown
Tedevuelvolallamadadehaceunrato
Pronombre de objeto indirecto (te)
‘Te’ is the second‑person singular indirect object pronoun, indicating that the action is directed toward ‘you’.
Verbo devolver (devuelvo)
‘Devuelvo’ is the first‑person singular present indicative of ‘devolver’, meaning ‘to return’ or ‘to give back’.
Artículo y sustantivo (la llamada)
‘La llamada’ is a feminine noun meaning ‘the call’; the definite article agrees in gender and number.
Expresión de tiempo (de hace un rato)
‘De hace un rato’ literally means ‘from a little while ago’; it functions as a temporal complement.
🗨In Conversation
¿Me llamaste hace un momento?
Did you call me a moment ago?
Sí, te devuelvo la llamada de hace un rato.
Yes, I’m returning the call from a little while ago.
✕Common Mistakes
Le devuelvo la llamada de hace un rato.
‘Le’ is a leísmo form used in some regions, but with ‘devolver’ the standard indirect object pronoun is ‘te’ for informal ‘you’. Using ‘le’ can sound overly formal or regional.
Te devuelvo la llamada de hace rato.
The article ‘un’ is required; omitting it makes the phrase sound incomplete.
Te devuelvo la llamada hace un rato.
The preposition ‘de’ is needed to link the time expression correctly.
↔Alternatives
Te regreso la llamada que hiciste hace un momento.
I’m returning the call you made a moment ago.
Te llamo de nuevo, como me llamaste antes.
I’m calling you again, like you called me earlier.
Te devuelvo la llamada que me dejaste hace un rato.
I’m returning the call you left for me a short while ago.
Cultural Tip
In most Spanish‑speaking countries, returning a missed call promptly is seen as courteous. In business settings, you might add a brief apology (‘Disculpa por no contestar antes’) before the phrase. Note that in some regions leísmo is common, so you may hear ‘Le devuelvo la llamada…’ instead of ‘Te…’, but ‘te’ is universally correct for informal ‘you’.