In this short guide, we will cover the following topics for ‘despertar’ in Spanish:
- What does ‘Despertar’ mean?
- ‘Despertar’ Conjugations
- How to Use ‘Despertar’ in Spanish
- To describe that a person wakes up
- To express that an idea, desire, feeling, or memory arised
- Expressing reflection or thinking
- Synonyms of ‘Despertar’ in Spanish
What does ‘Despertar’ mean?
Definition – ‘Despertar’ means to wake up, to awaken, or to come to your senses. It’s more commonly used to express that a person’s sleep has finished or interrupted. As a result, despertar is more commonly translated as ‘to wake up’.
However, depending on the context, this verb has several meanings in Spanish. Below there are some common situations where you can use ‘despertar’ along with their corresponding translations.
- When describing that a person woke up, ‘despertar’ is translated as ‘to wake up’ or ‘to awake’
- If talking about bringing back memories or describing feelings or desires caused by a certain situation, this verb is translated as ‘to awaken’ or ‘to arise’.
- If used to express that a person needs to think or reflect about something, despertar means ‘to wake up’ or ‘to come to your senses’.
Take Note: In Spanish, despertar is a transitive verb. This means that ‘despertar’ works with an object. So, if you’re describing that you did and receive the action of waking up, ‘despertar’ will be a reflexive verb.
‘Despertar’ Conjugations
In most tenses, despertar is a regular verb, meaning that you’ll use the same stem. However, when conjugating in present, imperative and present subjunctive, despertar has some small irregularities that you need to keep in mind.
Below there are some conjugation charts that will show you how to conjugate ‘despertar’ in Spanish. Notice that the conjugation patterns that you’ll see below will also be applied to the reflexive form despertarse. However, you’ll also need to add a reflexive pronoun.
Indicative
Present tense conjugation
In order to make the pronunciation easier, when conjugating ‘despertar’ in the present tense, you’ll use the stem despiert. This stem will be used for all the subjects and all you need to do is add the corresponding endings for each person.
Person | Conjugation | Translation |
---|---|---|
Yo | despierto | I wake up |
Tú | despiertas | You wake up |
Él / Ella / Usted | despierta | He/She wakes up |
Nosotros | despertamos | We wake up |
Vosotros | despertáis | You wake up |
Ustedes / Ellos / Ellas | despiertan | They/You wake up |
Preterite tense conjugation
Despertar in preterite tense is a regular verb. This means that you just need to remove the -AR ending, which will leave you with the stem despert- and then add the proper ending.
Person | Conjugation | Translation |
---|---|---|
Yo | desperté | I woke up |
Tú | despertaste | You woke up |
Él / Ella / Usted | despertó | He/She woke up |
Nosotros | despertamos | We woke up |
Vosotros | despertasteis | You woke up |
Ustedes / Ellos / Ellas | despertaron | They/You woke up |
Imperfect tense conjugation
Person | Conjugation | Translation |
---|---|---|
Yo | despertaba | I woke up |
Tú | despertabas | You woke up |
Él / Ella / Usted | despertaba | He/She woke up |
Nosotros | despertábamos | We woke up |
Vosotros | despertabais | You woke up |
Ustedes / Ellos / Ellas | despertaban | They/You woke up |
Future tense conjugation
To conjugate despertar in the future tense, just add the endings underlined in the table below to the infinitive form of the verb.
Person | Conjugation | Translation |
---|---|---|
Yo | despertaré | I will wake up |
Tú | despertarás | You will wake up |
Él / Ella / Usted | despertará | He/She will wake up |
Nosotros | despertaremos | We will wake up |
Vosotros | despertaréis | You will wake up |
Ustedes / Ellos / Ellas | despertarán | They/You will wake up |
Conditional tense conjugation
In the conditional tense, despertar doesn’t have any irregularities since we work with its infinitive form to conjugate it to the conditional tense. Just make sure to add the proper endings.
Person | Conjugation | Translation |
---|---|---|
Yo | despertaría | I would wake up |
Tú | despertarías | You would wake up |
Él / Ella / Usted | despertaría | He/She would wake up |
Nosotros | despertaríamos | We would wake up |
Vosotros | despertaríais | You would wake up |
Ustedes / Ellos / Ellas | desperatarían | They/You would wake up |
Progressive Tenses

El bebé se está despertando.
The baby is waking up.
Esta semana no nos estemos despertando temprano.
This week we’re not waking up early.
Perfect Tenses

Marta ha despertado a mis hermanas.
Marta has waken my sisters up.
En unas horas, los niños habrán despertado.
In a few hours, the kids will have awakened.
Despertar Subjunctive Conjugations
Present subjunctive conjugation
In the present subjunctive, despertar has some spelling irregularities. So, to conjugate to this mood, you’ll use the stem ‘despiert’ for most of the subjects. Notice that only ‘nosotros’ and ‘vosotros’ don’t have these changes in spelling of the stem.
Person | Conjugation | Translation |
---|---|---|
Yo | despierte | To wake up |
Tú | despiertes | To wake up |
Él / Ella / Usted | despierte | To wake up |
Nosotros | despertemos | To wake up |
Vosotros | despertéis | To wake up |
Ustedes / Ellos / Ellas | despierten | To wake up |
Imperfect subjunctive conjugations
For the imperfect subjunctive, keep the stem ‘despert’ and add the ending according for each corresponding pronoun as shown in the table below.
Person | Conjugation | Translation |
---|---|---|
Yo | Despertara / depertase | I wake up |
Tú | Despertaras / despertases | You wake up |
Él / Ella / Usted | Despertara / despertases | He/She wakes up |
Nosotros | Despertáramos / despertásemos | We wake up |
Vosotros | Despertarais / despertaseis | You wake up |
Ustedes / Ellos / Ellas | Despertaran / despertasen | They/You wake up |
Perfect subjunctive

Ojala se hayan despertado temprano.
I hope they woke up early.
Si te hubieras despertado temprano, habríamos llegado a tiempo.
If you had woken up early, we would have arrived on time.
Imperative
Imperative conjugation
For the positive imperative in Spanish, the irregular stem ‘despiert’ is used for tú and ustedes. However, for vosotros and nosotros, you’ll use the regular stem ‘despert’.
Person | Conjugation | Translation |
---|---|---|
Tú | despiertes | Wake up |
Nosotros | despertemos | Let’s wake up |
Vosotros | despertad | Wake up |
Ustedes | despierten | Wake up |
Take Note: The negative imperative works slightly differently than the positive imperative shown above. To conjugate the negative imperative, you need to use the present subjunctive conjugation (despierte, despiertes, etc.). Just make sure to add the word No before the verb and have a bossy voice tone 😉
No despiertes a mamá, necesita descansar.
Don’t wake mom up, she has to rest.
How to Use ‘Despertar’ in Spanish with Examples
- To describe that a person stopped sleeping
- To express that an idea, desire, feeling, or memory arised
- When someone reflects or thinks about something
Below, I’ll explain how to use this verb in your daily conversations.
To describe that a person stopped sleeping
In Spanish, we use ‘despertar’ to talk about stopping or interrupting someone’s sleep. So in this context, despertar can be translated as ‘to wake up’ or ‘awaken’. Keep in mind that with this meaning, ‘despertar’ can have a reflexive form.
[Despertar conjugated] + [complement]
¡Ya despiértense! ¡Son las 7!
Wake up! It’s 7 already!
Ana Laura no me despertará mañana.
Ana Laura will not wake me up tomorrow.
Me desperté tarde y ya no había nadie en casa.
I woke up late and no one was home.
Julia me dijo que la despertara en caso de que su alarma no funcionara.
Julia told me to wake her up in case her alarm didn’t work.
Take Note: Notice that in this context we use direct object pronouns if the person awaking is different from the person performing the action. However, if I wake up myself without the help of another, I’ll use a reflexive pronoun. Check the examples below.
Clara te despertó ayer.
Clara woke you up yesterday.
¿Podrás despertarte mañana a las 7 a.m.?
Will you be able to wake up tomorrow morning at 7 a.m.?
To express that a desire, feeling, or memory arised
‘Despertar’ is also used to refer to bringing out memories, feelings, desires or ideas. In this context, it can be translated as ‘arise’ or ‘bring back’.
[‘Despertar’ conjugated] + [complement]
Caminar desde el centro de la ciudad a la casa despertó mi apetito.
Walking from the city center to the house whetted my appetite.
Ver las fotos del campamento despertó buenos recuerdos en la familia.
Seeing the photos of the camp awakened good memories in the family.
Ir al volcán despertó nuevas emociones en los excursionistas.
Going to the volcano awakened new emotions in the hikers.
Expressing reflection or thinking
‘Despertar’ is also used to refer to making someone reflect or be aware of something. As a result, in this situation, it can be translated as ‘wake up to’, ‘to come to your senses’ or ‘raise’.
El objetivo de las conferencias es despertar la conciencia en los estudiantes.
The aim of the lectures is to raise awareness among students.
Afortunadamente despertó ante la situación que le afectaba.
Fortunately, he woke up to the situation affecting him.
¡Despierta! ¿No te das cuenta del daño ocasionado?
Wake up! Don’t you realize the damage you have done?
Despertar Expressions & Idioms
There are some Spanish expressions with ‘despertar’ that you can use to improve your vocabulary and communication.
Despertar interés: In Spanish, despertar el interés is used when talking about the curiosity or attention that a person or thing provokes in someone. It can be translated as ‘awaken interest’.
Ser una persona despierta: this Spanish expression is used to describe a clever person or kids that learn something very quick and easily. It’s closer in meaning to ‘sharp’, ‘smart’ or ‘clever’.
Despertar el hambre: this phrase is used to express that the feeling of hunger is being stimulated or aroused. It means ‘to whet your appetite’. Although this expression is common in Spanish, its variation abrir el apetito is more popular.
Synonyms of ‘Despertar’ in Spanish
Levantarse: In Spanish, levantarse is also used when referring to stopping or interrupting someone’s sleep. As a result, Spanish speakers use this verb as a synonym of ‘despertarse’. Levantarse means ‘to wake up’ or ‘to get up’.
Despabilar: Despabilar or espabilar are used to express that a person needs to wake up or be more energetic. Both of these verbs are slightly more formal than ‘despertar’. ‘Despabilar’ can be translated as ‘to wake up’, ‘to pay attention’ or ‘to liven up’.
Recordar: Recordar can be a synonym of ‘despertar’ when used to talk about bringing back memories, feelings, desires or ideas. ‘Recordar’ means ‘to remember’ or ‘to recall’.
Avivar: In Spanish, avivar can be an informal synonym of ‘despertar’ when referring to becoming aware of something. It means ‘to spark off’ or ‘to reflect’.
FAQs
How do you use Despertarse in a sentence in Spanish? ›
Examples in Present Tense
Yo siempre me despierto a las 6 a.m., pero mis amigos nunca se despiertan temprano. (I always wake up at 6 a.m., but my friends never wake up early).
...
Despertarse Conjugation: Preterite Tense.
yo me | desperté |
---|---|
ns. nos | despertamos |
vs. os | despertasteis |
ellos/as se | despertaron |
Despertarse is a Spanish irregular reflexive verb meaning to wake up.
What are the 4 conjugations? ›The Present Indicative (amō), showing the Present Stem. The Present Infinitive (amā-re), showing the Present Stem. The Perfect Indicative (amāv-ī), showing the Perfect Stem. The neuter of the Perfect Participle (amāt-um), or, if that form is not in use, the Future Active Participle (amāt-ūrus), showing the Supine Stem.
What are conjugate words? ›Conjugate is what you do to a word to make it agree with other words in a sentence. If you've studied a foreign language, you know that sometimes you can conjugate a verb just by changing its endings. To conjugate the verb to be, you'd say “I am,” “you are,” “she is,” and so on.
What type of verb is Despertarse? ›The verb despertarse is a reflexive verb, which means that the action remains entirely with the person who performs it. This is why this verb ends in se, which means its conjugation includes a reflexive pronoun.
What is the TU command for Despertarse? ›Personal Pronoun | Conjugation |
---|---|
Yo | |
Tu | te despiertes |
El/Ella | se despierte |
Nosotros | nos despertemos |
The verb despertarse is irregular in the present tense. It's stem changes from e → ie in all conjugations except for the nosotros and vosotros forms. Apart from these modifications in the present tense, despertarse is conjugated regularly in all other indicative forms.
Is Despedirse stem changing? ›Despedirse is a stem-changing verb, so its main vowel changes in part of its conjugation. To conjugate it in the present, use its irregular stem despid- in all forms, EXCEPT FOR nosotros/as and vosotros/as, which keep the regular stem (desped-).
What are the six reflexive pronouns in Spanish? ›Reflexive verbs are a type of pronominal verb, which means they include or relate to a pronoun. In Spanish, the reflexive pronouns (or pronombres reflexivos) “me, te, se, nos, os” are used in the same way.
How do you use reflexive verbs in Spanish? ›
You can identify reflexive verbs by paying attention to the verb ending, which always include the reflexive pronoun “se” at the end of a verb when in the infinitive form (for example: Conocerse – to know each other).
What are the 6 conjugations? ›To be verb conjugation
In English, we have six different persons: first person singular (I), second person singular (you), third person singular (he/she/it/one), first person plural (we), second person plural (you), and third person plural (they). We must conjugate a verb for each person.
All English verbs (except to be) have five forms: base, past tense, past participle, present participle, and third-person singular.
What are conjugations examples? ›...
The irregular verb to go conjugated into the future tense:
- I will go.
- You (singular) will go.
- He/she/it/John/Jane will go.
- We will go.
- You (plural) will.
- They/John & Jane will go.
- Will we go?
- You will not go.
What is a conjugate in maths? In maths, Conjugates are defined as a pair of binomials with identical terms but parting opposite arithmetic operators in the middle of these similar terms. For example, p – q is the conjugate of p + q.
How do you conjugate a reflexive verb? ›Reflexive verbs are always conjugated with the reflexive pronoun that agrees with the subject: me (myself), te (yourself), se (himself, herself, itself, themselves), nous (ourselves), and vous (yourself, yourselves). These pronouns generally precede the verb.
How do you say Vestirse? ›- behs. - teer. - seh.
- bes. - tiɾ - se.
- ves. - tir. - se.
- ah. - kohs. - tahr. - seh.
- a. - kos. - taɾ - se.
- a. - cos. - tar. - se.
You use the reflexive form, despedirse when two or more people say goodbye to each other: Se despidieron con un beso. They said goodbye with a kiss, or They kissed one another goodbye.
What are the 4 types of stem changing verbs in Spanish? ›- Stem Changing Verbs: E to IE change.
- Stem Changing Verbs: O to UE change.
- Stem Changing Verbs: E to I change.
- Stem Changing Verbs: U to UE change.
- Stem Changing Verbs: I to IE change.
What is the verb to say goodbye in Spanish? ›
Despedirse (“to say goodbye”) is a reflexive verb that belongs to the third group of Spanish verbs.
What are the 12 pronouns in Spanish? ›That's why the complete list of all subject pronouns have 13 options: yo, tú, vos, usted, él, ella, nosotros, nosotras, vosotros, vosotras, ustedes, ellos, and ellas.
What are 10 reflexive verbs in Spanish? ›- aburrirse - to get bored.
- acercarse - to get close to.
- acordarse de - to remember.
- acostarse - to go to bed.
- acostumbrarse a - to get accustomed to (to get use to)
- afeitarse - to shave.
- aficionarse a - to become interested in.
- alegrarse - to become (be) happy.
- yo — I.
- tú — you (singular familiar)
- usted — you (singular formal)
- él, ella — he, she.
- nosotros, nosotras — we.
- vosotros, vosotras — you (plural familiar)
- ustedes — you (plural formal)
- ellos, ellas — they.
- person: (yo) me levanto.
- person: (tú) te levantas.
- person: (él/élla) se levanta.
If the subject in a sentence performs an action on itself, then the verb is considered to be reflexive, and the pronoun used to receive the action is reflexive. The singular reflexive pronouns are: me (myself), te (yourself), and se (yourself (formal), himself, herself).
How do you stem change Despertar? ›The verb despertarse is irregular in the present tense. It's stem changes from e → ie in all conjugations except for the nosotros and vosotros forms. Apart from these modifications in the present tense, despertarse is conjugated regularly in all other indicative forms.
How do you conjugate the verb? ›To conjugate a verb, you add unique suffixes to its base verb form. The right suffix depends on the person in a sentence you refer to, who is also known as the subject of the sentence.
What are the steps to conjugate? ›- Subject: Select the subject of your sentence. ...
- Action: Select the main verb of a sentence by finding the word expressing the action. ...
- General Time: Choose the tense by figuring out whether the action takes place in the present, the past, or the future.
In linguistics, conjugation (/ˌkɒndʒʊˈɡeɪʃən/) is the creation of derived forms of a verb from its principal parts by inflection (alteration of form according to rules of grammar). For instance, the verb break can be conjugated to form the words break, breaks, broke, broken and breaking.
Is Despertar a stem changing verb? ›
Despertar is a stem-changing verb.
What does stem change mean? ›What are "Stem-Changing Verbs"? Stem-changing verbs are a distinctive class of verb, some of whose forms are irregular in a patterned, predictable way. Here's how they work: The stem of a verb is its infinitive minus -ar, -er, -ir. EG: pens|ar, entend|er, prefer|ir, dorm|ir.
What are the two types of stem changes? ›1. Stem Changing Verbs: E to IE change. 2. Stem Changing Verbs: O to UE change.
What are examples of conjugations? ›...
The irregular verb to go conjugated into the future tense:
- I will go.
- You (singular) will go.
- He/she/it/John/Jane will go.
- We will go.
- You (plural) will.
- They/John & Jane will go.
- Will we go?
- You will not go.
The verb be is irregular. It has eight different forms: be, am, is, are, was, were, being, been. The present simple and past simple tenses make more changes than those of other verbs.
How do Spanish conjugations work? ›According to the Spanish conjugation rules, different forms of the verb are created by removing the infinitive ending, such as ‒ar, ‒er, or ‒ir, and replacing it with the required ending that specifies who is performing an action depending on the used tense and mood (indicative, subjunctive or imperative).
How do you conjugate words in Spanish? ›Basic Concepts for Verb Conjugation in Spanish language
To conjugate a verb in the present indicative, remove the infinitive ending from the regular verb, in this case -ar , -er or -ir, and replace it with an ending indicating "the person" who performs the action of the verb.
To Be: Past Simple
You were. You were. He/She/It was.
However, you're trying to find the complex conjugate of just 2 . While this may not look like a complex number in the form a+bi , it actually is! Think of it this way: 2+0i. So, the complex conjugate of 2+0i would be 2−0i , which is still equal to 2 .