What does referir mean in English?

Referir means "to refer" in English.

How do you conjugate referir in Spanish?

Referir 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 referir?

Common idiomatic expressions using referir include: "referirse a" (to refer to / to mean). These expressions are frequently used in everyday Spanish conversation.

What should I know about using referir?

Referir is a stem-changing verb (e→ie)

How do you use referir in a sentence?

Example: "Me referí al problema." which means "I referred to the problem." in English.

What are synonyms for referir?

Spanish synonyms for referir include: mencionar, aludir. The exact synonym to use depends on the context and specific meaning intended.

Referir

to refer

🎯

Infinitive (infinitivo)

Base form of the verb

referir

🏃

Gerund (gerundio)

Present participle (-ing form)

referiendo

📋

Past Participle

Used in compound tenses

referido

Simple Tenses

⚡

Present Indicative (presente de indicativo)

Present actions and habitual activities

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	refero I refer	I refer
tú	referes you refer	you refer
él/ella/usted	refere he/she/you refers	he/she/you refers
nosotros	referimos we refer	we refer
vosotros	referís you all refer	you all refer
ellos/ustedes	referen they/you all refer	they/you all refer

🕰️

Imperfect Indicative (imperfecto de indicativo)

Ongoing past actions and descriptions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	refería I used to refer	I used to refer
tú	referías you used to refer	you used to refer
él/ella/usted	refería he/she/you used to refer	he/she/you used to refer
nosotros	referíamos we used to refer	we used to refer
vosotros	referíais you all used to refer	you all used to refer
ellos/ustedes	referían they/you all used to refer	they/you all used to refer

📅

Preterit (pretérito)

Completed past actions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	referí I refered	I refered
tú	referiste you refered	you refered
él/ella/usted	referió he/she/you refered	he/she/you refered
nosotros	referimos we refered	we refered
vosotros	referisteis you all refered	you all refered
ellos/ustedes	referieron they/you all refered	they/you all refered

🔮

Future (futuro)

Future actions and intentions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	referiré I will refer	I will refer
tú	referirás you will refer	you will refer
él/ella/usted	referirá he/she/you will refer	he/she/you will refer
nosotros	referiremos we will refer	we will refer
vosotros	referiréis you all will refer	you all will refer
ellos/ustedes	referirán they/you all will refer	they/you all will refer

🎯

Conditional (potencial simple)

Hypothetical and conditional actions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	referiría I would refer	I would refer
tú	referirías you would refer	you would refer
él/ella/usted	referiría he/she/you would refer	he/she/you would refer
nosotros	referiríamos we would refer	we would refer
vosotros	referiríais you all would refer	you all would refer
ellos/ustedes	referirían they/you all would refer	they/you all would refer

💭

Present Subjunctive (presente de subjuntivo)

Subjective present actions and desires

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	refera that I refer	that I refer
tú	referas that you refer	that you refer
él/ella/usted	refera that he/she/you refer	that he/she/you refer
nosotros	referamos that we refer	that we refer
vosotros	referáis that you all refer	that you all refer
ellos/ustedes	referan that they/you all refer	that they/you all refer

🌙

Imperfect Subjunctive (imperfecto de subjuntivo)

Subjective past actions and hypothetical situations

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	referiera or referiese that I refered	that I refered
tú	referieras or referieses that you refered	that you refered
él/ella/usted	referiera or referiese that he/she/you refered	that he/she/you refered
nosotros	referiéramos or referiésemos that we refered	that we refered
vosotros	referierais or referieseis that you all refered	that you all refered
ellos/ustedes	referieran or referiesen that they/you all refered	that they/you all refered

Compound Tenses

✅

Present Perfect (perfecto de indicativo)

Actions completed recently or with present relevance

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

⏪

Pluperfect Indicative (pluscuamperfecto de indicativo)

Actions completed before another past action

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

📍

Preterit Perfect (pretérito anterior)

Actions completed immediately before another past action

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

🎊

Future Perfect (futuro perfecto)

Actions that will be completed by a future time

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

🔄

Conditional Perfect (potencial compuesto)

Actions that would have been completed under certain conditions

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

💫

Subjunctive Present Perfect (perfecto de subjuntivo)

Subjective actions completed in relation to the present

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

🌌

Subjunctive Past Perfect (pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo)

Subjective actions completed before another past action

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

❗

Commands (imperativo)

Commands and direct orders

Person	Command	English
tú	refere	refer! (you)
usted	refera	refer! (you formal)
nosotros	referamos	let's refer!
vosotros	referid	refer! (you all)
ustedes	referan	refer! (you all)

🚫

Negative Commands (imperativo negativo)

Negative commands and prohibitions

Person	Command	English
tú	no referas	don't refer! (you)
usted	no refera	don't refer! (you formal)
nosotros	no referamos	let's not refer!
vosotros	no referáis	don't refer! (you all)
ustedes	no referan	don't refer! (you all)

More About "referir"

Idiomatic Expressions

referirse a

to refer to / to mean

💡 Used when talking about something specific

Examples in Context

Me referí al problema.

I referred to the problem.

Preterite

Me refiero a ti.

I'm referring to you.

Present

Se ha referido al tema.

He/She has referred to the topic.

Present Perfect

Me referiré a los datos.

I will refer to the data.

Future

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms:

mencionar(to mention)

More straightforward

aludir(to allude to)

More indirect reference

Usage Notes

•Referir is a stem-changing verb (e→ie)
•Most commonly used reflexively: referirse a (to refer to)
•Stem changes: me refiero, te refieres, se refiere
•Main meaning: to refer, to relate

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Referir

Simple Tenses

Compound Tenses

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