What does jugar mean in English?

Jugar means "to play" in English.

How do you conjugate jugar in Spanish?

Jugar is conjugated across all Spanish tenses including present, preterite, imperfect, future, conditional, subjunctive, and more. Each tense has specific conjugations for yo, tú, él/ella/usted, nosotros, vosotros, and ellos/ustedes. You can see complete conjugation tables with audio pronunciations on this page.

What are common idiomatic expressions with jugar?

Common idiomatic expressions using jugar include: "jugar limpio" (to play fair), "jugarse el todo por el todo" (to risk everything). These expressions are frequently used in everyday Spanish conversation.

What should I know about using jugar?

Jugar is a stem-changing verb: u→ue (juego, juegas)

How do you use jugar in a sentence?

Example: "Jugué fútbol ayer." which means "I played soccer yesterday." in English.

Jugar

to play

🎯

Infinitive (infinitivo)

Base form of the verb

jugar

🏃

Gerund (gerundio)

Present participle (-ing form)

jugando

📋

Past Participle

Used in compound tenses

jugado

Simple Tenses

⚡

Present Indicative (presente de indicativo)

Present actions and habitual activities

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	juego I play	I play
tú	juegas you play	you play
él/ella/usted	juega he/she/you plays	he/she/you plays
nosotros	jugamos we play	we play
vosotros	jugáis you all play	you all play
ellos/ustedes	juegan they/you all play	they/you all play

🕰️

Imperfect Indicative (imperfecto de indicativo)

Ongoing past actions and descriptions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	jugaba I used to play	I used to play
tú	jugabas you used to play	you used to play
él/ella/usted	jugaba he/she/you used to play	he/she/you used to play
nosotros	jugábamos we used to play	we used to play
vosotros	jugabais you all used to play	you all used to play
ellos/ustedes	jugaban they/you all used to play	they/you all used to play

📅

Preterit (pretérito)

Completed past actions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	jugé I played	I played
tú	jugaste you played	you played
él/ella/usted	jugó he/she/you played	he/she/you played
nosotros	jugamos we played	we played
vosotros	jugasteis you all played	you all played
ellos/ustedes	jugaron they/you all played	they/you all played

🔮

Future (futuro)

Future actions and intentions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	jugaré I will play	I will play
tú	jugarás you will play	you will play
él/ella/usted	jugará he/she/you will play	he/she/you will play
nosotros	jugaremos we will play	we will play
vosotros	jugaréis you all will play	you all will play
ellos/ustedes	jugarán they/you all will play	they/you all will play

🎯

Conditional (potencial simple)

Hypothetical and conditional actions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	jugaría I would play	I would play
tú	jugarías you would play	you would play
él/ella/usted	jugaría he/she/you would play	he/she/you would play
nosotros	jugaríamos we would play	we would play
vosotros	jugaríais you all would play	you all would play
ellos/ustedes	jugarían they/you all would play	they/you all would play

💭

Present Subjunctive (presente de subjuntivo)

Subjective present actions and desires

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	juegue that I play	that I play
tú	juegues that you play	that you play
él/ella/usted	juegue that he/she/you play	that he/she/you play
nosotros	juguemos that we play	that we play
vosotros	juguéis that you all play	that you all play
ellos/ustedes	jueguen that they/you all play	that they/you all play

🌙

Imperfect Subjunctive (imperfecto de subjuntivo)

Subjective past actions and hypothetical situations

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	jugara or jugase that I played	that I played
tú	jugaras or jugases that you played	that you played
él/ella/usted	jugara or jugase that he/she/you played	that he/she/you played
nosotros	jugáramos or jugásemos that we played	that we played
vosotros	jugarais or jugaseis that you all played	that you all played
ellos/ustedes	jugaran or jugasen that they/you all played	that they/you all played

Compound Tenses

✅

Present Perfect (perfecto de indicativo)

Actions completed recently or with present relevance

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	he jugado I have played	I have played
tú	has jugado you have played	you have played
él/ella/usted	ha jugado he/she/you have played	he/she/you have played
nosotros	hemos jugado we have played	we have played
vosotros	habéis jugado you all have played	you all have played
ellos/ustedes	han jugado they/you all have played	they/you all have played

⏪

Pluperfect Indicative (pluscuamperfecto de indicativo)

Actions completed before another past action

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	había jugado I had played	I had played
tú	habías jugado you had played	you had played
él/ella/usted	había jugado he/she/you had played	he/she/you had played
nosotros	habíamos jugado we had played	we had played
vosotros	habíais jugado you all had played	you all had played
ellos/ustedes	habían jugado they/you all had played	they/you all had played

📍

Preterit Perfect (pretérito anterior)

Actions completed immediately before another past action

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	hube jugado I had played	I had played
tú	hubiste jugado you had played	you had played
él/ella/usted	hubo jugado he/she/you had played	he/she/you had played
nosotros	hubimos jugado we had played	we had played
vosotros	hubisteis jugado you all had played	you all had played
ellos/ustedes	hubieron jugado they/you all had played	they/you all had played

🎊

Future Perfect (futuro perfecto)

Actions that will be completed by a future time

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	habré jugado I will have played	I will have played
tú	habrás jugado you will have played	you will have played
él/ella/usted	habrá jugado he/she/you will have played	he/she/you will have played
nosotros	habremos jugado we will have played	we will have played
vosotros	habréis jugado you all will have played	you all will have played
ellos/ustedes	habrán jugado they/you all will have played	they/you all will have played

🔄

Conditional Perfect (potencial compuesto)

Actions that would have been completed under certain conditions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	habría jugado I would have played	I would have played
tú	habrías jugado you would have played	you would have played
él/ella/usted	habría jugado he/she/you would have played	he/she/you would have played
nosotros	habríamos jugado we would have played	we would have played
vosotros	habríais jugado you all would have played	you all would have played
ellos/ustedes	habrían jugado they/you all would have played	they/you all would have played

💫

Subjunctive Present Perfect (perfecto de subjuntivo)

Subjective actions completed in relation to the present

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	haya jugado that I have played	that I have played
tú	hayas jugado that you have played	that you have played
él/ella/usted	haya jugado that he/she/you have played	that he/she/you have played
nosotros	hayamos jugado that we have played	that we have played
vosotros	hayáis jugado that you all have played	that you all have played
ellos/ustedes	hayan jugado that they/you all have played	that they/you all have played

🌌

Subjunctive Past Perfect (pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo)

Subjective actions completed before another past action

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	hubiera jugado that I had played	that I had played
tú	hubieras jugado that you had played	that you had played
él/ella/usted	hubiera jugado that he/she/you had played	that he/she/you had played
nosotros	hubiéramos jugado that we had played	that we had played
vosotros	hubierais jugado that you all had played	that you all had played
ellos/ustedes	hubieran jugado that they/you all had played	that they/you all had played

❗

Commands (imperativo)

Commands and direct orders

Person	Command	English
tú	juega	play! (you)
usted	juegue	play! (you formal)
nosotros	juguemos	let's play!
vosotros	jugad	play! (you all)
ustedes	jueguen	play! (you all)

🚫

Negative Commands (imperativo negativo)

Negative commands and prohibitions

Person	Command	English
tú	no juges	don't play! (you)
usted	no juge	don't play! (you formal)
nosotros	no jugemos	let's not play!
vosotros	no jugéis	don't play! (you all)
ustedes	no jugen	don't play! (you all)

More About "jugar"

Idiomatic Expressions

jugar limpio

to play fair

💡 Being honest in competition

jugarse el todo por el todo

to risk everything

💡 Taking a big risk

Examples in Context

Jugué fútbol ayer.

I played soccer yesterday.

Preterite

Los niños juegan en el parque.

The children play in the park.

Present

He jugado videojuegos toda la tarde.

I have played video games all afternoon.

Present Perfect

Jugaremos al tenis mañana.

We will play tennis tomorrow.

Future

Usage Notes

•Jugar is a stem-changing verb: u→ue (juego, juegas)
•Spelling change: g→gu before e (jugué, jugue)
•Main meaning: to play (games/sports)
•Used with "a" before the game/sport: jugar al fútbol

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Jugar

Simple Tenses

Compound Tenses

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