What does observar mean in English?

Observar means "to observe" in English.

How do you conjugate observar in Spanish?

Observar 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 observar in a sentence?

Example: "Observé el comportamiento de los animales." which means "I observed the animals' behavior." in English.

What are synonyms for observar?

Spanish synonyms for observar include: mirar. The exact synonym to use depends on the context and specific meaning intended.

Observar

to observe

🎯

Infinitive (infinitivo)

Base form of the verb

observar

🏃

Gerund (gerundio)

Present participle (-ing form)

observando

📋

Past Participle

Used in compound tenses

observado

Simple Tenses

⚡

Present Indicative (presente de indicativo)

Present actions and habitual activities

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	observo I observe	I observe
tú	observas you observe	you observe
él/ella/usted	observa he/she/you observes	he/she/you observes
nosotros	observamos we observe	we observe
vosotros	observáis you all observe	you all observe
ellos/ustedes	observan they/you all observe	they/you all observe

🕰️

Imperfect Indicative (imperfecto de indicativo)

Ongoing past actions and descriptions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	observaba I used to observe	I used to observe
tú	observabas you used to observe	you used to observe
él/ella/usted	observaba he/she/you used to observe	he/she/you used to observe
nosotros	observábamos we used to observe	we used to observe
vosotros	observabais you all used to observe	you all used to observe
ellos/ustedes	observaban they/you all used to observe	they/you all used to observe

📅

Preterit (pretérito)

Completed past actions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	observé I observed	I observed
tú	observaste you observed	you observed
él/ella/usted	observó he/she/you observed	he/she/you observed
nosotros	observamos we observed	we observed
vosotros	observasteis you all observed	you all observed
ellos/ustedes	observaron they/you all observed	they/you all observed

🔮

Future (futuro)

Future actions and intentions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	observaré I will observe	I will observe
tú	observarás you will observe	you will observe
él/ella/usted	observará he/she/you will observe	he/she/you will observe
nosotros	observaremos we will observe	we will observe
vosotros	observaréis you all will observe	you all will observe
ellos/ustedes	observarán they/you all will observe	they/you all will observe

🎯

Conditional (potencial simple)

Hypothetical and conditional actions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	observaría I would observe	I would observe
tú	observarías you would observe	you would observe
él/ella/usted	observaría he/she/you would observe	he/she/you would observe
nosotros	observaríamos we would observe	we would observe
vosotros	observaríais you all would observe	you all would observe
ellos/ustedes	observarían they/you all would observe	they/you all would observe

💭

Present Subjunctive (presente de subjuntivo)

Subjective present actions and desires

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	observe that I observe	that I observe
tú	observes that you observe	that you observe
él/ella/usted	observe that he/she/you observe	that he/she/you observe
nosotros	observemos that we observe	that we observe
vosotros	observéis that you all observe	that you all observe
ellos/ustedes	observen that they/you all observe	that they/you all observe

🌙

Imperfect Subjunctive (imperfecto de subjuntivo)

Subjective past actions and hypothetical situations

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	observara or observase that I observed	that I observed
tú	observaras or observases that you observed	that you observed
él/ella/usted	observara or observase that he/she/you observed	that he/she/you observed
nosotros	observáramos or observásemos that we observed	that we observed
vosotros	observarais or observaseis that you all observed	that you all observed
ellos/ustedes	observaran or observasen that they/you all observed	that they/you all observed

Compound Tenses

✅

Present Perfect (perfecto de indicativo)

Actions completed recently or with present relevance

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

⏪

Pluperfect Indicative (pluscuamperfecto de indicativo)

Actions completed before another past action

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

📍

Preterit Perfect (pretérito anterior)

Actions completed immediately before another past action

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

🎊

Future Perfect (futuro perfecto)

Actions that will be completed by a future time

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

🔄

Conditional Perfect (potencial compuesto)

Actions that would have been completed under certain conditions

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

💫

Subjunctive Present Perfect (perfecto de subjuntivo)

Subjective actions completed in relation to the present

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

🌌

Subjunctive Past Perfect (pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo)

Subjective actions completed before another past action

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

❗

Commands (imperativo)

Commands and direct orders

Person	Command	English
tú	observa	observe! (you)
usted	observe	observe! (you formal)
nosotros	observemos	let's observe!
vosotros	observad	observe! (you all)
ustedes	observen	observe! (you all)

🚫

Negative Commands (imperativo negativo)

Negative commands and prohibitions

Person	Command	English
tú	no observes	don't observe! (you)
usted	no observe	don't observe! (you formal)
nosotros	no observemos	let's not observe!
vosotros	no observéis	don't observe! (you all)
ustedes	no observen	don't observe! (you all)

More About "observar"

Examples in Context

Observé el comportamiento de los animales.

I observed the animals' behavior.

Preterite

Los científicos observan las estrellas.

Scientists observe the stars.

Present

He observado cambios importantes.

I have observed important changes.

Present Perfect

Observaremos el proceso.

We will observe the process.

Future

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms:

mirar(to look at)

Less scientific

Usage Notes

•Observar is a regular -ar verb
•Main meaning: to observe, to watch carefully
•More formal/scientific than "mirar"

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Observar

Simple Tenses

Compound Tenses

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