What does llegar mean in English?

Llegar means "to arrive" in English.

How do you conjugate llegar in Spanish?

Llegar 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 llegar?

Common idiomatic expressions using llegar include: "llegar a ser" (to become), "llegar a las manos" (to come to blows / to fight physically), "llegar lejos" (to go far / to be successful). These expressions are frequently used in everyday Spanish conversation.

What should I know about using llegar?

Llegar is a regular -ar verb but requires spelling changes in some forms

How do you use llegar in a sentence?

Example: "Llego a casa a las seis." which means "I arrive home at six." in English.

What are synonyms for llegar?

Spanish synonyms for llegar include: alcanzar, arribar, venir. The exact synonym to use depends on the context and specific meaning intended.

Llegar

to arrive

🎯

Infinitive (infinitivo)

Base form of the verb

llegar

🏃

Gerund (gerundio)

Present participle (-ing form)

llegando

📋

Past Participle

Used in compound tenses

llegado

Simple Tenses

⚡

Present Indicative (presente de indicativo)

Present actions and habitual activities

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	llego I arrive	I arrive
tú	llegas you arrive	you arrive
él/ella/usted	llega he/she/you arrives	he/she/you arrives
nosotros	llegamos we arrive	we arrive
vosotros	llegáis you all arrive	you all arrive
ellos/ustedes	llegan they/you all arrive	they/you all arrive

🕰️

Imperfect Indicative (imperfecto de indicativo)

Ongoing past actions and descriptions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	llegaba I used to arrive	I used to arrive
tú	llegabas you used to arrive	you used to arrive
él/ella/usted	llegaba he/she/you used to arrive	he/she/you used to arrive
nosotros	llegábamos we used to arrive	we used to arrive
vosotros	llegabais you all used to arrive	you all used to arrive
ellos/ustedes	llegaban they/you all used to arrive	they/you all used to arrive

📅

Preterit (pretérito)

Completed past actions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	llegé I arrived	I arrived
tú	llegaste you arrived	you arrived
él/ella/usted	llegó he/she/you arrived	he/she/you arrived
nosotros	llegamos we arrived	we arrived
vosotros	llegasteis you all arrived	you all arrived
ellos/ustedes	llegaron they/you all arrived	they/you all arrived

🔮

Future (futuro)

Future actions and intentions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	llegaré I will arrive	I will arrive
tú	llegarás you will arrive	you will arrive
él/ella/usted	llegará he/she/you will arrive	he/she/you will arrive
nosotros	llegaremos we will arrive	we will arrive
vosotros	llegaréis you all will arrive	you all will arrive
ellos/ustedes	llegarán they/you all will arrive	they/you all will arrive

🎯

Conditional (potencial simple)

Hypothetical and conditional actions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	llegaría I would arrive	I would arrive
tú	llegarías you would arrive	you would arrive
él/ella/usted	llegaría he/she/you would arrive	he/she/you would arrive
nosotros	llegaríamos we would arrive	we would arrive
vosotros	llegaríais you all would arrive	you all would arrive
ellos/ustedes	llegarían they/you all would arrive	they/you all would arrive

💭

Present Subjunctive (presente de subjuntivo)

Subjective present actions and desires

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	llege that I arrive	that I arrive
tú	lleges that you arrive	that you arrive
él/ella/usted	llege that he/she/you arrive	that he/she/you arrive
nosotros	llegemos that we arrive	that we arrive
vosotros	llegéis that you all arrive	that you all arrive
ellos/ustedes	llegen that they/you all arrive	that they/you all arrive

🌙

Imperfect Subjunctive (imperfecto de subjuntivo)

Subjective past actions and hypothetical situations

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	llegara or llegase that I arrived	that I arrived
tú	llegaras or llegases that you arrived	that you arrived
él/ella/usted	llegara or llegase that he/she/you arrived	that he/she/you arrived
nosotros	llegáramos or llegásemos that we arrived	that we arrived
vosotros	llegarais or llegaseis that you all arrived	that you all arrived
ellos/ustedes	llegaran or llegasen that they/you all arrived	that they/you all arrived

Compound Tenses

✅

Present Perfect (perfecto de indicativo)

Actions completed recently or with present relevance

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

⏪

Pluperfect Indicative (pluscuamperfecto de indicativo)

Actions completed before another past action

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

📍

Preterit Perfect (pretérito anterior)

Actions completed immediately before another past action

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

🎊

Future Perfect (futuro perfecto)

Actions that will be completed by a future time

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

🔄

Conditional Perfect (potencial compuesto)

Actions that would have been completed under certain conditions

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

💫

Subjunctive Present Perfect (perfecto de subjuntivo)

Subjective actions completed in relation to the present

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

🌌

Subjunctive Past Perfect (pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo)

Subjective actions completed before another past action

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

❗

Commands (imperativo)

Commands and direct orders

Person	Command	English
tú	llega	arrive! (you)
usted	llege	arrive! (you formal)
nosotros	llegemos	let's arrive!
vosotros	llegad	arrive! (you all)
ustedes	llegen	arrive! (you all)

🚫

Negative Commands (imperativo negativo)

Negative commands and prohibitions

Person	Command	English
tú	no lleges	don't arrive! (you)
usted	no llege	don't arrive! (you formal)
nosotros	no llegemos	let's not arrive!
vosotros	no llegéis	don't arrive! (you all)
ustedes	no llegen	don't arrive! (you all)

More About "llegar"

Idiomatic Expressions

llegar a ser

to become

💡 Achieving a position or status through effort

llegar a las manos

to come to blows / to fight physically

💡 When an argument escalates to violence

llegar lejos

to go far / to be successful

💡 Predicting someone's future success

llegar a un acuerdo

to reach an agreement

💡 Negotiating and finding common ground

llegar y besar el santo

to achieve something easily / to be lucky

💡 Getting something on the first try

Examples in Context

Llego a casa a las seis.

I arrive home at six.

Present

Llegué tarde a la reunión.

I arrived late to the meeting.

Preterite

Llegábamos temprano todos los días.

We used to arrive early every day.

Imperfect

Llegaremos mañana por la mañana.

We will arrive tomorrow morning.

Future

Han llegado los invitados.

The guests have arrived.

Present Perfect

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms:

alcanzar(to reach, achieve)

Emphasizes arriving at or achieving a goal

arribar(to arrive)

Formal, often for ships or planes

venir(to come)

Similar but emphasizes direction toward speaker

Antonyms:

salir(to leave)

partir(to depart)

Usage Notes

•Llegar is a regular -ar verb but requires spelling changes in some forms
•Preterite and present subjunctive use "gu" before "e": llegué, llegues
•This maintains the hard "g" sound throughout conjugation
•Often followed by "a" + place (llegar a Madrid)
•Common with time expressions: llegar tarde/temprano (arrive late/early)
•Can mean "to reach" in addition to "to arrive"
•Used metaphorically: llegar a + infinitive (to manage to, to get to)
•Frequently used in expressions about achievement and success

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Llegar

Simple Tenses

Compound Tenses

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Antonyms:

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