What does querer mean in English?

Querer means "to want/love" in English.

How do you conjugate querer in Spanish?

Querer 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 querer?

Common idiomatic expressions using querer include: "querer decir" (to mean), "como quieras" (whatever you want / as you wish), "sin querer" (unintentionally / by accident). These expressions are frequently used in everyday Spanish conversation.

What should I know about using querer?

Querer is irregular with e→ie stem changes in present and present subjunctive

How do you use querer in a sentence?

Example: "Quiero aprender español." which means "I want to learn Spanish." in English.

What are synonyms for querer?

Spanish synonyms for querer include: desear, amar, anhelar. The exact synonym to use depends on the context and specific meaning intended.

Querer Conjugation

to want/love in Spanish

🏃

Gerund (gerundio)

Present participle (-ing form)

queriendo

📋

Past Participle

Used in compound tenses

querido

Simple Tenses

⚡

Present Indicative (presente de indicativo)

Present actions and habitual activities

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	quero I want/love	I want/love
tú	queres you want/love	you want/love
él/ella/usted	quere he/she/you want/loves	he/she/you want/loves
nosotros	queremos we want/love	we want/love
vosotros	queréis you all want/love	you all want/love
ellos/ustedes	queren they/you all want/love	they/you all want/love

🕰️

Imperfect Indicative (imperfecto de indicativo)

Ongoing past actions and descriptions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	quería I used to want/love	I used to want/love
tú	querías you used to want/love	you used to want/love
él/ella/usted	quería he/she/you used to want/love	he/she/you used to want/love
nosotros	queríamos we used to want/love	we used to want/love
vosotros	queríais you all used to want/love	you all used to want/love
ellos/ustedes	querían they/you all used to want/love	they/you all used to want/love

📅

Preterit (pretérito)

Completed past actions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	querí I want/loved	I want/loved
tú	queriste you want/loved	you want/loved
él/ella/usted	querió he/she/you want/loved	he/she/you want/loved
nosotros	querimos we want/loved	we want/loved
vosotros	queristeis you all want/loved	you all want/loved
ellos/ustedes	querieron they/you all want/loved	they/you all want/loved

🔮

Future (futuro)

Future actions and intentions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	quereré I will want/love	I will want/love
tú	quererás you will want/love	you will want/love
él/ella/usted	quererá he/she/you will want/love	he/she/you will want/love
nosotros	quereremos we will want/love	we will want/love
vosotros	quereréis you all will want/love	you all will want/love
ellos/ustedes	quererán they/you all will want/love	they/you all will want/love

🎯

Conditional (potencial simple)

Hypothetical and conditional actions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	querería I would want/love	I would want/love
tú	quererías you would want/love	you would want/love
él/ella/usted	querería he/she/you would want/love	he/she/you would want/love
nosotros	quereríamos we would want/love	we would want/love
vosotros	quereríais you all would want/love	you all would want/love
ellos/ustedes	quererían they/you all would want/love	they/you all would want/love

💭

Present Subjunctive (presente de subjuntivo)

Subjective present actions and desires

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	quera that I want/love	that I want/love
tú	queras that you want/love	that you want/love
él/ella/usted	quera that he/she/you want/love	that he/she/you want/love
nosotros	queramos that we want/love	that we want/love
vosotros	queráis that you all want/love	that you all want/love
ellos/ustedes	queran that they/you all want/love	that they/you all want/love

🌙

Imperfect Subjunctive (imperfecto de subjuntivo)

Subjective past actions and hypothetical situations

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	queriera or queriese that I want/loved	that I want/loved
tú	querieras or querieses that you want/loved	that you want/loved
él/ella/usted	queriera or queriese that he/she/you want/loved	that he/she/you want/loved
nosotros	queriéramos or queriésemos that we want/loved	that we want/loved
vosotros	querierais or querieseis that you all want/loved	that you all want/loved
ellos/ustedes	querieran or queriesen that they/you all want/loved	that they/you all want/loved

Compound Tenses

✅

Present Perfect (perfecto de indicativo)

Actions completed recently or with present relevance

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

⏪

Pluperfect Indicative (pluscuamperfecto de indicativo)

Actions completed before another past action

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

📍

Preterit Perfect (pretérito anterior)

Actions completed immediately before another past action

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

🎊

Future Perfect (futuro perfecto)

Actions that will be completed by a future time

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

🔄

Conditional Perfect (potencial compuesto)

Actions that would have been completed under certain conditions

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

💫

Subjunctive Present Perfect (perfecto de subjuntivo)

Subjective actions completed in relation to the present

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

🌌

Subjunctive Past Perfect (pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo)

Subjective actions completed before another past action

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

❗

Commands (imperativo)

Commands and direct orders

Person	Command	English
tú	quere	want/love! (you)
usted	quera	want/love! (you formal)
nosotros	queramos	let's want/love!
vosotros	quered	want/love! (you all)
ustedes	queran	want/love! (you all)

🚫

Negative Commands (imperativo negativo)

Negative commands and prohibitions

Person	Command	English
tú	no queras	don't want/love! (you)
usted	no quera	don't want/love! (you formal)
nosotros	no queramos	let's not want/love!
vosotros	no queráis	don't want/love! (you all)
ustedes	no queran	don't want/love! (you all)

More About "querer"

Idiomatic Expressions

querer decir

to mean

💡 Explaining the meaning or intention of something

como quieras

whatever you want / as you wish

💡 Expressing indifference or agreement

sin querer

unintentionally / by accident

💡 Doing something without meaning to

donde fueres, haz lo que vieres

when in Rome, do as the Romans do

💡 Adapting to local customs

querer es poder

where there's a will, there's a way

💡 Encouraging determination

Examples in Context

Quiero aprender español.

I want to learn Spanish.

Present

Quise llamarte ayer.

I wanted to call you yesterday.

Preterite

Quería viajar por el mundo.

I wanted to travel the world.

Imperfect

¿Querrías ayudarme?

Would you like to help me?

Conditional

Te he querido toda mi vida.

I have loved you all my life.

Present Perfect

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms:

desear(to wish, desire)

More formal and intense

amar(to love)

Stronger emotion, romantic or deep affection

anhelar(to yearn, long for)

Formal, implies strong desire

Antonyms:

odiar(to hate)

Usage Notes

•Querer is irregular with e→ie stem changes in present and present subjunctive
•Can mean "to want" or "to love" depending on context
•When used with people, usually means "to love" (te quiero = I love you)
•When used with infinitives or things, means "to want"
•Preterite "quise" can mean "I tried to" or "I wanted to"
•Present tense: quiero, quieres, quiere, queremos, queréis, quieren
•Commonly used in polite requests with conditional: querría
•Essential verb for expressing desires and affection

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Querer Conjugation

Simple Tenses

Compound Tenses

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Antonyms:

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