What does trabajar mean in English?

Trabajar means "to work" in English.

How do you conjugate trabajar in Spanish?

Trabajar 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 trabajar?

Common idiomatic expressions using trabajar include: "trabajar como un burro" (to work like a dog), "trabajar por cuenta propia" (to be self-employed), "trabajar a tiempo completo/parcial" (to work full-time/part-time). These expressions are frequently used in everyday Spanish conversation.

What verbs are related to trabajar?

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

How do you use trabajar in a sentence?

Example: "Trabajo en una oficina en el centro." which means "I work in an office downtown." in English.

What are synonyms for trabajar?

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

Trabajar

to work

🎯

Infinitive (infinitivo)

Base form of the verb

trabajar

🏃

Gerund (gerundio)

Present participle (-ing form)

trabajando

📋

Past Participle

Used in compound tenses

trabajado

Simple Tenses

⚡

Present Indicative (presente de indicativo)

Present actions and habitual activities

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	trabajo I work	I work
tú	trabajas you work	you work
él/ella/usted	trabaja he/she/you works	he/she/you works
nosotros	trabajamos we work	we work
vosotros	trabajáis you all work	you all work
ellos/ustedes	trabajan they/you all work	they/you all work

🕰️

Imperfect Indicative (imperfecto de indicativo)

Ongoing past actions and descriptions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	trabajaba I used to work	I used to work
tú	trabajabas you used to work	you used to work
él/ella/usted	trabajaba he/she/you used to work	he/she/you used to work
nosotros	trabajábamos we used to work	we used to work
vosotros	trabajabais you all used to work	you all used to work
ellos/ustedes	trabajaban they/you all used to work	they/you all used to work

📅

Preterit (pretérito)

Completed past actions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	trabajé I worked	I worked
tú	trabajaste you worked	you worked
él/ella/usted	trabajó he/she/you worked	he/she/you worked
nosotros	trabajamos we worked	we worked
vosotros	trabajasteis you all worked	you all worked
ellos/ustedes	trabajaron they/you all worked	they/you all worked

🔮

Future (futuro)

Future actions and intentions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	trabajaré I will work	I will work
tú	trabajarás you will work	you will work
él/ella/usted	trabajará he/she/you will work	he/she/you will work
nosotros	trabajaremos we will work	we will work
vosotros	trabajaréis you all will work	you all will work
ellos/ustedes	trabajarán they/you all will work	they/you all will work

🎯

Conditional (potencial simple)

Hypothetical and conditional actions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	trabajaría I would work	I would work
tú	trabajarías you would work	you would work
él/ella/usted	trabajaría he/she/you would work	he/she/you would work
nosotros	trabajaríamos we would work	we would work
vosotros	trabajaríais you all would work	you all would work
ellos/ustedes	trabajarían they/you all would work	they/you all would work

💭

Present Subjunctive (presente de subjuntivo)

Subjective present actions and desires

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	trabaje that I work	that I work
tú	trabajes that you work	that you work
él/ella/usted	trabaje that he/she/you work	that he/she/you work
nosotros	trabajemos that we work	that we work
vosotros	trabajéis that you all work	that you all work
ellos/ustedes	trabajen that they/you all work	that they/you all work

🌙

Imperfect Subjunctive (imperfecto de subjuntivo)

Subjective past actions and hypothetical situations

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	trabajara or trabajase that I worked	that I worked
tú	trabajaras or trabajases that you worked	that you worked
él/ella/usted	trabajara or trabajase that he/she/you worked	that he/she/you worked
nosotros	trabajáramos or trabajásemos that we worked	that we worked
vosotros	trabajarais or trabajaseis that you all worked	that you all worked
ellos/ustedes	trabajaran or trabajasen that they/you all worked	that they/you all worked

Compound Tenses

✅

Present Perfect (perfecto de indicativo)

Actions completed recently or with present relevance

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

⏪

Pluperfect Indicative (pluscuamperfecto de indicativo)

Actions completed before another past action

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

📍

Preterit Perfect (pretérito anterior)

Actions completed immediately before another past action

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

🎊

Future Perfect (futuro perfecto)

Actions that will be completed by a future time

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

🔄

Conditional Perfect (potencial compuesto)

Actions that would have been completed under certain conditions

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

💫

Subjunctive Present Perfect (perfecto de subjuntivo)

Subjective actions completed in relation to the present

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

🌌

Subjunctive Past Perfect (pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo)

Subjective actions completed before another past action

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

❗

Commands (imperativo)

Commands and direct orders

Person	Command	English
tú	trabaja	work! (you)
usted	trabaje	work! (you formal)
nosotros	trabajemos	let's work!
vosotros	trabajad	work! (you all)
ustedes	trabajen	work! (you all)

🚫

Negative Commands (imperativo negativo)

Negative commands and prohibitions

Person	Command	English
tú	no trabajes	don't work! (you)
usted	no trabaje	don't work! (you formal)
nosotros	no trabajemos	let's not work!
vosotros	no trabajéis	don't work! (you all)
ustedes	no trabajen	don't work! (you all)

More About "trabajar"

Idiomatic Expressions

trabajar como un burro

to work like a dog

💡 Working very hard

trabajar por cuenta propia

to be self-employed

💡 Working for oneself rather than an employer

trabajar a tiempo completo/parcial

to work full-time/part-time

💡 Describing employment schedule

trabajar en equipo

to work as a team

💡 Collaborative work

trabajar duro

to work hard

💡 Putting in significant effort

Examples in Context

Trabajo en una oficina en el centro.

I work in an office downtown.

Present

Trabajé en esa empresa durante cinco años.

I worked at that company for five years.

Preterite

¿En qué trabajas?

What do you do for work?

Present

He trabajado muy duro este año.

I have worked very hard this year.

Present Perfect

Trabajaré desde casa mañana.

I will work from home tomorrow.

Future

Related Verbs

sobretrabajarse(to overwork)

compound - to overwork oneself

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms:

labrar(to till, work (land))

For agricultural work

Antonyms:

descansar(to rest)

holgazanear(to laze around)

Usage Notes

•Trabajar is a regular -ar verb
•Main meaning: to work (employment, effort)
•Common question: "¿En qué trabajas?" (What do you do for work?)
•Used with "en" for place: trabajar en una oficina (to work in an office)
•Used with "de" for profession: trabajar de profesor (to work as a teacher)
•Can mean "to work on": trabajar en un proyecto (to work on a project)
•Related noun: el trabajo (work, job)
•Common with time expressions: trabajar 8 horas (to work 8 hours)

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Trabajar

Simple Tenses

Compound Tenses

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