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How to conjugate Decir in Spanish

To say, to tell Irregular Verb Top 100

Introduction

Decir is the Spanish verb meaning "to say / to tell". For example: "What did you say?" or "I swear to tell the truth". In Spain, it is used when answering the phone - you will hear "¿Diga?" meaning "hello" or "¡Digame!", literally translating to "tell me". It can also be used to express rumours and opinions - "they say it's going to rain all next week" and "What do you say, will we go on holidays in June?"

Similar verbs to decir include: articular (to articulate), comentar (to mention), expresar (to express), mentionar (to mention).

ItemSpanishEnglish
Infinitivedecirto say, to tell
Past participledichosaid
Gerunddiciendosaying
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Indicative Tenses of Decir

Decir in the Indicative Present

The Indicative Present of decir is used to talk about situations, events or thoughts that are happening now or in the near future. It is also used to talk about facts and truths. For example, "digo hola al profesor", meaning "I say hello to the teacher".

In Spanish, the Indicative Present is known as "El Presente".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yodigo I say
dices you say
Ella / Él / Usteddice s/he says, you (formal) say
Nosotras / Nosotrosdecimoswe say
Vosotras / Vosotrosdecísyou (plural) say
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesdicen they say, you (plural formal) say

The red dot () above denotes an irregular conjugation.

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Decir in the Indicative Preterite

The Indicative Preterite of decir is used to talk about actions completed in the past, at a specific point in time. For example, "dije hola al profesor", meaning "I said hello to the teacher".

In Spanish, the Indicative Preterite is known as "El Pretérito Indefinido".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yodije I said
dijiste you said
Ella / Él / Usteddijo s/he said, you (formal) said
Nosotras / Nosotrosdijimos we said
Vosotras / Vosotrosdijisteis you (plural) said
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesdijeron they said, you (plural formal) said

The red dot () above denotes an irregular conjugation.

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Decir in the Indicative Imperfect

The Indicative Imperfect of decir is used to describe regular and repeated actions that happened in the past and descriptions of things you used to do. For example, "decía hola al profesor", meaning "I used to say hello to the teacher".

In Spanish, the Indicative Imperfect is known as "El Pretérito Imperfecto".

PronounSpanishEnglish
YodecíaI used to say
decíasyou used to say
Ella / Él / Usteddecías/he used to say, you (formal) used to say
Nosotras / Nosotrosdecíamoswe used to say
Vosotras / Vosotrosdecíaisyou (plural) used to say
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesdecíanthey used to say, you (plural formal) used to say

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Decir in the Indicative Present Continuous

The Indicative Present Continuous of decir is used to talk about something that is happening continuously or right now. For example, "estoy diciendo hola al profesor", meaning "I am saying hello to the teacher".

In Spanish, the Indicative Present Continuous is known as "El Presente Progresivo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yoestoy diciendo I am saying
estás diciendo you are saying
Ella / Él / Ustedestá diciendo s/he is saying, you (formal) are saying
Nosotras / Nosotrosestamos diciendo we are saying
Vosotras / Vosotrosestáis diciendo you (plural) are saying
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesestán diciendo they are saying, you (plural formal) are saying

The red dot () above denotes an irregular conjugation.

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Decir in the Indicative Informal Future

The Indicative Informal Future of decir is used to talk about something that will happen in the future, especially in the near future. For example, "voy a decir hola al profesor", meaning "I am going to say hello to the teacher".

In Spanish, the Indicative Informal Future is known as "El Futuro Próximo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yovoy a decirI am going to say
vas a deciryou are going to say
Ella / Él / Ustedva a decirs/he is going to say, you (formal) are going to say
Nosotras / Nosotrosvamos a decirwe are going to say
Vosotras / Vosotrosvais a deciryou (plural) are going to say
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesvan a decirthey are going to say, you (plural formal) are going to say

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Decir in the Indicative Future

The Indicative Future of decir is used to talk about something that will happen in the future. For example, "diré hola al profesor", meaning "I will say hello to the teacher".

In Spanish, the Indicative Future is known as "El Futuro Simple".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yodiré I will say
dirás you will say
Ella / Él / Usteddirá s/he will say, you (formal) will say
Nosotras / Nosotrosdiremos we will say
Vosotras / Vosotrosdiréis you (plural) will say
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesdirán they will say, you (plural formal) will say

The red dot () above denotes an irregular conjugation.

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Decir in the Indicative Conditional

The Indicative Conditional of decir is used to talk about something that may happen in the future, hypothesis and probabilities. For example, "diría hola al profesor", meaning "I would say hello to the teacher".

In Spanish, the Indicative Conditional is known as "El Condicional Simple".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yodiría I would say
dirías you would say
Ella / Él / Usteddiría s/he would say, you (formal) would say
Nosotras / Nosotrosdiríamos we would say
Vosotras / Vosotrosdiríais you (plural) would say
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesdirían they would say, you (plural formal) would say

The red dot () above denotes an irregular conjugation.

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Decir in the Indicative Present Perfect

The Indicative Present Perfect of decir is used to describe actions that started recently (in the past) and are still happening now or things that have been done recently. For example, "he dicho hola al profesor", meaning "I have said hello to the teacher".

In Spanish, the Indicative Present Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Perfecto".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohe dicho I have said
has dicho you have said
Ella / Él / Ustedha dicho s/he has said, you (formal) have said
Nosotras / Nosotroshemos dicho we have said
Vosotras / Vosotroshabéis dicho you (plural) have said
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshan dicho they have said, you (plural formal) have said

The red dot () above denotes an irregular conjugation.

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Decir in the Indicative Past Perfect

The Indicative Past Perfect of decir is used to talk about actions that happened before another action in the past. For example, "había dicho hola al profesor", meaning "I had said hello to the teacher".

In Spanish, the Indicative Past Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohabía dicho I had said
habías dicho you had said
Ella / Él / Ustedhabía dicho s/he had said, you (formal) had said
Nosotras / Nosotroshabíamos dicho we had said
Vosotras / Vosotroshabíais dicho you (plural) had said
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshabían dicho they had said, you (plural formal) had said

The red dot () above denotes an irregular conjugation.

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Decir in the Indicative Future Perfect

The Indicative Future Perfect of decir is used to talk about something that will have happened in the future after something else has already happened. For example, "habré dicho hola al profesor", meaning "I will have said hello to the teacher".

In Spanish, the Indicative Future Perfect is known as "El Futuro Perfecto".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohabré dicho I will have said
habrás dicho you will have said
Ella / Él / Ustedhabrá dicho s/he will have said, you (formal) will have said
Nosotras / Nosotroshabremos dicho we will have said
Vosotras / Vosotroshabréis dicho you (plural) will have said
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshabrán dicho they will have said, you (plural formal) will have said

The red dot () above denotes an irregular conjugation.

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Decir in the Indicative Conditional Perfect

The Indicative Conditional Perfect of decir is used to talk about something that would have happened in the past but didn’t due to another action. For example, "habría dicho hola al profesor", meaning "I would have said hello to the teacher".

In Spanish, the Indicative Conditional Perfect is known as "El Condicional Perfecto".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohabría dicho I would have said
habrías dicho you would have said
Ella / Él / Ustedhabría dicho s/he would have said, you (formal) would have said
Nosotras / Nosotroshabríamos dicho we would have said
Vosotras / Vosotroshabríais dicho you (plural) would have said
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshabrían dicho they would have said, you (plural formal) would have said

The red dot () above denotes an irregular conjugation.

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Subjunctive Tenses of Decir

Decir in the Subjunctive Present

The Subjunctive Present is used to talk about situations of uncertainty, or emotions such as wishes, desires and hopes. It differs from the indicative mood due to the uncertainty of the events which are being spoken about. For example, "diga", meaning "I say".

In Spanish, the Subjunctive Present is known as "El Presente de Subjuntivo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yodiga I say
digas you say
Ella / Él / Usteddiga s/he says, you (formal) say
Nosotras / Nosotrosdigamos we say
Vosotras / Vosotrosdigáis you (plural) say
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesdigan they say, you (plural formal) say

The red dot () above denotes an irregular conjugation.

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Decir in the Subjunctive Imperfect

The Subjunctive Imperfect is used to speak about unlikely or uncertain events in the past or to cast an opinion (emotional) about something that happened in the past. For example, "dijera", meaning "I said".

In Spanish, the Subjunctive Imperfect is known as "El Imperfecto Subjuntivo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yodijera I said
dijeras you said
Ella / Él / Usteddijera s/he said, you (formal) said
Nosotras / Nosotrosdijéramos we said
Vosotras / Vosotrosdijerais you (plural) said
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesdijeran they said, you (plural formal) said

The red dot () above denotes an irregular conjugation.

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Decir in the Subjunctive Future

The Subjunctive Future is used to speak about hypothetical situations, and actions/events that may happen in the future. For example, "dijere", meaning "I will say".

In Spanish, the Subjunctive Future is known as "El Futuro de Subjuntivo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yodijere I will say
dijeres you will say
Ella / Él / Usteddijere s/he will say, you (formal) will say
Nosotras / Nosotrosdijéremos we will say
Vosotras / Vosotrosdijereis you (plural) will say
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesdijeren they will say, you (plural formal) will say

The red dot () above denotes an irregular conjugation.

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Decir in the Subjunctive Present Perfect

The Subjunctive Present Perfect is used to describe past actions or events that are still connected to the present day and to speak about an action that will have happened by a certain time in the future. For example, "haya dicho", meaning "I have said".

In Spanish, the Subjunctive Present Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Perfecto de Subjuntivo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohaya dicho I have said
hayas dicho you have said
Ella / Él / Ustedhaya dicho s/he has said, you (formal) have said
Nosotras / Nosotroshayamos dicho we have said
Vosotras / Vosotroshayáis dicho you (plural) have said
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshayan dicho they have said, you (plural formal) have said

The red dot () above denotes an irregular conjugation.

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Decir in the Subjunctive Past Perfect

The Subjunctive Past Perfect is used to speak about hypothetical situations, and actions/events that occurred before other actions/events in the past. For example, "hubiera dicho", meaning "I had said".

In Spanish, the Subjunctive Past Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto de Subjuntivo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohubiera dicho I had said
hubieras dicho you had said
Ella / Él / Ustedhubiera dicho s/he had said, you (formal) had said
Nosotras / Nosotroshubiéramos dicho we had said
Vosotras / Vosotroshubierais dicho you (plural) had said
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshubieran dicho they had said, you (plural formal) had said

The red dot () above denotes an irregular conjugation.

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Decir in the Subjunctive Future Perfect

The Subjunctive Future Perfect is used to speak about something that will have happened if a hypothetical situations occurs in the future. For example, "hubiere dicho", meaning "I will have said".

In Spanish, the Subjunctive Future Perfect is known as "El Futuro Perfecto de Subjuntivo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohubiere dicho I will have said
hubieres dicho you will have said
Ella / Él / Ustedhubiere dicho s/he will have said, you (formal) will have said
Nosotras / Nosotroshubiéremos dicho we will have said
Vosotras / Vosotroshubiereis dicho you (plural) will have said
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshubieren dicho they will have said, you (plural formal) will have said

The red dot () above denotes an irregular conjugation.

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Imperative Tenses of Decir

Decir in the Imperative Affirmative

The Imperative Affirmative is used to give orders and commands, to tell someone to do something. For example, "diga", meaning "(to you formal) say!".

In Spanish, the Imperative Affirmative is known as "El Imperativo Afirmativo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yo--
di (to you) say!
Ella / Él / Usteddiga (to you formal) say!
Nosotras / Nosotrosdigamos let's say!
Vosotras / Vosotrosdecid(to you plural) say!
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesdigan (to you plural formal) say!

The red dot () above denotes an irregular conjugation.

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Decir in the Imperative Negative

The Imperative Negative is used to give orders and commands, telling someone not to do something. For example, "no diga", meaning "(to you formal) don't say!".

In Spanish, the Imperative Negative is known as "El Imperativo Negativo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yo--
no digas (to you) don't say!
Ella / Él / Ustedno diga (to you formal) don't say!
Nosotras / Nosotrosno digamos let's not say!
Vosotras / Vosotrosno digáis (to you plural) don't say!
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesno digan (to you plural formal) don't say!

The red dot () above denotes an irregular conjugation.

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Example sentences and usage

  • Les dije que me mandaran otro boleto. I told them to send me another ticket.
  • ¡Yo sólo lo digo! I'm just saying!
  • "Confía en mí", dijo él. "Trust me," he said.
  • Haz lo que te diga. Do whatever he tells you.
  • "Buenos días", dijo Tom con una sonrisa. "Good morning", said Tom with a smile.
  • Yo nunca dije que fuera frágil. I never said I was fragile.
  • Eso suena interesante. ¿Qué le dijiste? That sounds interesting. What did you tell her?
  • Quiero que me digas la verdad. I want you to tell me the truth.

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Download and print a cheat sheet of Decir Spanish conjugation tables in image or PDF format:

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Want to explore other verb conjugations?

Why not check out Decirse – to say (to oneself) or see the complete list of verbs here.


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