What does matar mean in English?

Matar means "to kill" in English.

How do you conjugate matar in Spanish?

Matar 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.

How do you use matar in a sentence?

Example: "Mataron al dragón." which means "They killed the dragon." in English.

Matar

Q: What are common idiomatic expressions with matar?

Common idiomatic expressions using matar include: "matar el tiempo" (to kill time), "matar dos pájaros de un tiro" (to kill two birds with one stone). These expressions are frequently used in everyday Spanish conversation.

to kill

🎯

Infinitive (infinitivo)

Base form of the verb

matar

🏃

Gerund (gerundio)

Present participle (-ing form)

matando

📋

Past Participle

Used in compound tenses

matado

Simple Tenses

⚡

Present Indicative (presente de indicativo)

Present actions and habitual activities

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	mato I kill	I kill
tú	matas you kill	you kill
él/ella/usted	mata he/she/you kills	he/she/you kills
nosotros	matamos we kill	we kill
vosotros	matáis you all kill	you all kill
ellos/ustedes	matan they/you all kill	they/you all kill

🕰️

Imperfect Indicative (imperfecto de indicativo)

Ongoing past actions and descriptions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	mataba I used to kill	I used to kill
tú	matabas you used to kill	you used to kill
él/ella/usted	mataba he/she/you used to kill	he/she/you used to kill
nosotros	matábamos we used to kill	we used to kill
vosotros	matabais you all used to kill	you all used to kill
ellos/ustedes	mataban they/you all used to kill	they/you all used to kill

📅

Preterit (pretérito)

Completed past actions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	maté I killed	I killed
tú	mataste you killed	you killed
él/ella/usted	mató he/she/you killed	he/she/you killed
nosotros	matamos we killed	we killed
vosotros	matasteis you all killed	you all killed
ellos/ustedes	mataron they/you all killed	they/you all killed

🔮

Future (futuro)

Future actions and intentions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	mataré I will kill	I will kill
tú	matarás you will kill	you will kill
él/ella/usted	matará he/she/you will kill	he/she/you will kill
nosotros	mataremos we will kill	we will kill
vosotros	mataréis you all will kill	you all will kill
ellos/ustedes	matarán they/you all will kill	they/you all will kill

🎯

Conditional (potencial simple)

Hypothetical and conditional actions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	mataría I would kill	I would kill
tú	matarías you would kill	you would kill
él/ella/usted	mataría he/she/you would kill	he/she/you would kill
nosotros	mataríamos we would kill	we would kill
vosotros	mataríais you all would kill	you all would kill
ellos/ustedes	matarían they/you all would kill	they/you all would kill

💭

Present Subjunctive (presente de subjuntivo)

Subjective present actions and desires

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	mate that I kill	that I kill
tú	mates that you kill	that you kill
él/ella/usted	mate that he/she/you kill	that he/she/you kill
nosotros	matemos that we kill	that we kill
vosotros	matéis that you all kill	that you all kill
ellos/ustedes	maten that they/you all kill	that they/you all kill

🌙

Imperfect Subjunctive (imperfecto de subjuntivo)

Subjective past actions and hypothetical situations

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	matara or matase that I killed	that I killed
tú	mataras or matases that you killed	that you killed
él/ella/usted	matara or matase that he/she/you killed	that he/she/you killed
nosotros	matáramos or matásemos that we killed	that we killed
vosotros	matarais or mataseis that you all killed	that you all killed
ellos/ustedes	mataran or matasen that they/you all killed	that they/you all killed

Compound Tenses

✅

Present Perfect (perfecto de indicativo)

Actions completed recently or with present relevance

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

⏪

Pluperfect Indicative (pluscuamperfecto de indicativo)

Actions completed before another past action

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

📍

Preterit Perfect (pretérito anterior)

Actions completed immediately before another past action

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

🎊

Future Perfect (futuro perfecto)

Actions that will be completed by a future time

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

🔄

Conditional Perfect (potencial compuesto)

Actions that would have been completed under certain conditions

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

💫

Subjunctive Present Perfect (perfecto de subjuntivo)

Subjective actions completed in relation to the present

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

🌌

Subjunctive Past Perfect (pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo)

Subjective actions completed before another past action

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

❗

Commands (imperativo)

Commands and direct orders

Person	Command	English
tú	mata	kill! (you)
usted	mate	kill! (you formal)
nosotros	matemos	let's kill!
vosotros	matad	kill! (you all)
ustedes	maten	kill! (you all)

🚫

Negative Commands (imperativo negativo)

Negative commands and prohibitions

Person	Command	English
tú	no mates	don't kill! (you)
usted	no mate	don't kill! (you formal)
nosotros	no matemos	let's not kill!
vosotros	no matéis	don't kill! (you all)
ustedes	no maten	don't kill! (you all)

More About "matar"

Idiomatic Expressions

matar el tiempo

to kill time

💡 Passing time while waiting

matar dos pájaros de un tiro

to kill two birds with one stone

💡 Accomplishing two things at once

Examples in Context

Mataron al dragón.

They killed the dragon.

Preterite

El calor mata las plantas.

The heat kills the plants.

Present

Han matado el proyecto.

They have killed the project.

Present Perfect

Esto me matará de risa.

This will kill me laughing.

Future

Usage Notes

•Matar is a regular -ar verb
•Main meaning: to kill
•Used literally and figuratively

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Matar

Simple Tenses

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