What does perder mean in English?

Perder means "to lose" in English.

How do you conjugate perder in Spanish?

Perder 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 perder?

Common idiomatic expressions using perder include: "perder el tiempo" (to waste time), "perder la cabeza" (to lose one's mind), "perder de vista" (to lose sight of). These expressions are frequently used in everyday Spanish conversation.

What should I know about using perder?

Perder is a stem-changing verb: e→ie in stressed syllables (pierdo, pierdes)

What verbs are related to perder?

Verbs related to perder include: perderse. These verbs share similar meanings, stems, or conjugation patterns.

How do you use perder in a sentence?

Example: "Siempre pierdo las llaves." which means "I always lose my keys." in English.

What are synonyms for perder?

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

Perder

to lose

🎯

Infinitive (infinitivo)

Base form of the verb

perder

🏃

Gerund (gerundio)

Present participle (-ing form)

perdiendo

📋

Past Participle

Used in compound tenses

perdido

Simple Tenses

⚡

Present Indicative (presente de indicativo)

Present actions and habitual activities

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	pierdo I lose	I lose
tú	pierdes you lose	you lose
él/ella/usted	pierde he/she/you loses	he/she/you loses
nosotros	perdemos we lose	we lose
vosotros	perdéis you all lose	you all lose
ellos/ustedes	pierden they/you all lose	they/you all lose

🕰️

Imperfect Indicative (imperfecto de indicativo)

Ongoing past actions and descriptions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	perdía I used to lose	I used to lose
tú	perdías you used to lose	you used to lose
él/ella/usted	perdía he/she/you used to lose	he/she/you used to lose
nosotros	perdíamos we used to lose	we used to lose
vosotros	perdíais you all used to lose	you all used to lose
ellos/ustedes	perdían they/you all used to lose	they/you all used to lose

📅

Preterit (pretérito)

Completed past actions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	perdí I lost	I lost
tú	perdiste you lost	you lost
él/ella/usted	perdió he/she/you lost	he/she/you lost
nosotros	perdimos we lost	we lost
vosotros	perdisteis you all lost	you all lost
ellos/ustedes	perdieron they/you all lost	they/you all lost

🔮

Future (futuro)

Future actions and intentions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	perderé I will lose	I will lose
tú	perderás you will lose	you will lose
él/ella/usted	perderá he/she/you will lose	he/she/you will lose
nosotros	perderemos we will lose	we will lose
vosotros	perderéis you all will lose	you all will lose
ellos/ustedes	perderán they/you all will lose	they/you all will lose

🎯

Conditional (potencial simple)

Hypothetical and conditional actions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	perdería I would lose	I would lose
tú	perderías you would lose	you would lose
él/ella/usted	perdería he/she/you would lose	he/she/you would lose
nosotros	perderíamos we would lose	we would lose
vosotros	perderíais you all would lose	you all would lose
ellos/ustedes	perderían they/you all would lose	they/you all would lose

💭

Present Subjunctive (presente de subjuntivo)

Subjective present actions and desires

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	pierda that I lose	that I lose
tú	pierdas that you lose	that you lose
él/ella/usted	pierda that he/she/you lose	that he/she/you lose
nosotros	perdamos that we lose	that we lose
vosotros	perdáis that you all lose	that you all lose
ellos/ustedes	pierdan that they/you all lose	that they/you all lose

🌙

Imperfect Subjunctive (imperfecto de subjuntivo)

Subjective past actions and hypothetical situations

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	perdiera or perdiese that I lost	that I lost
tú	perdieras or perdieses that you lost	that you lost
él/ella/usted	perdiera or perdiese that he/she/you lost	that he/she/you lost
nosotros	perdiéramos or perdiésemos that we lost	that we lost
vosotros	perdierais or perdieseis that you all lost	that you all lost
ellos/ustedes	perdieran or perdiesen that they/you all lost	that they/you all lost

Compound Tenses

✅

Present Perfect (perfecto de indicativo)

Actions completed recently or with present relevance

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

⏪

Pluperfect Indicative (pluscuamperfecto de indicativo)

Actions completed before another past action

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

📍

Preterit Perfect (pretérito anterior)

Actions completed immediately before another past action

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

🎊

Future Perfect (futuro perfecto)

Actions that will be completed by a future time

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

🔄

Conditional Perfect (potencial compuesto)

Actions that would have been completed under certain conditions

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

💫

Subjunctive Present Perfect (perfecto de subjuntivo)

Subjective actions completed in relation to the present

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

🌌

Subjunctive Past Perfect (pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo)

Subjective actions completed before another past action

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

❗

Commands (imperativo)

Commands and direct orders

Person	Command	English
tú	pierde	lose! (you)
usted	pierda	lose! (you formal)
nosotros	perdamos	let's lose!
vosotros	perded	lose! (you all)
ustedes	pierdan	lose! (you all)

🚫

Negative Commands (imperativo negativo)

Negative commands and prohibitions

Person	Command	English
tú	no pierdas	don't lose! (you)
usted	no pierda	don't lose! (you formal)
nosotros	no perdamos	let's not lose!
vosotros	no perdáis	don't lose! (you all)
ustedes	no pierdan	don't lose! (you all)

More About "perder"

Idiomatic Expressions

perder el tiempo

to waste time

💡 Spending time unproductively

perder la cabeza

to lose one's mind

💡 Acting irrationally or going crazy

perder de vista

to lose sight of

💡 No longer being able to see or forgetting about something

perder los papeles

to lose one's cool

💡 Losing control of one's emotions

no tener nada que perder

to have nothing to lose

💡 Being in a position with no risk

perderse algo

to miss out on something

💡 Not experiencing something worthwhile

Examples in Context

Siempre pierdo las llaves.

I always lose my keys.

Present

Perdí el tren esta mañana.

I missed the train this morning.

Preterite

No quiero perder esta oportunidad.

I don't want to miss this opportunity.

Present

He perdido mi teléfono.

I have lost my phone.

Present Perfect

Si no sales ahora, perderás el autobús.

If you don't leave now, you will miss the bus.

Future

Related Verbs

perderse(to get lost)

reflexive form - to get lost

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms:

extraviar(to misplace, lose)

More formal, especially for objects

Antonyms:

ganar(to win, gain)

encontrar(to find)

hallar(to find)

Usage Notes

•Perder is a stem-changing verb: e→ie in stressed syllables (pierdo, pierdes)
•Main meanings: to lose (something), to miss (opportunity/transport), to waste
•Stem change occurs in present indicative, present subjunctive, and imperative
•Preterite is regular (no stem change): perdí, perdiste, perdió
•Reflexive form "perderse" means "to get lost": Me perdí (I got lost)
•Can mean "to waste": perder el tiempo (to waste time)
•Can mean "to miss": perder el tren (to miss the train)
•Opposite of "ganar" (to win) in competitions

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Perder

Simple Tenses

Compound Tenses

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