The Verb Decir (to Say / to Tell) in Spanish – Lesson 58

Decir: to say, to tell

Another yellow verb lesson! Today’s verb is decir, which means to say and to tell. Just like hacer (to do / to make), English has two verbs here, but Spanish just one.

As always: copy the table into your notebook and fill it in yourself.

Decir conjugation: present tense

Pronoun	Decir	English
yo	digo	I say / tell
tú	dices	you say / tell
él / ella / usted	dice	he / she says, you (formal) say
nosotros / nosotras	decimos	we say / tell
vosotros / vosotras	decís	you all say (Spain)
ustedes	dicen	you all say / tell
ellos / ellas	dicen	they say / tell

Yo digo: I say, I tell

Digo with a g: another “yo-go” verb, like hago, tengo, vengo!

Tú dices: you say, you tell

After decir, you’ll very often see que (that): “you say that…”. In English you can leave “that” out, but in Spanish you always need que. And as always, the question marks (and your tone of voice) turn it into a question.

Él / ella / usted dice: he / she says, you (formal) say

Let’s break it down: él dice (he says) + que (that) + está (he is, from estar) + aquí (here). Está can mean he is, she is or you (formal) are, but because we started with él, we know it’s “he is”.

Nosotros / nosotras decimos: we say, we tell

Here the stem goes back to dec-: decimos. In English you “tell” the truth, in Spanish you “say” it: decir la verdad.

Vosotros / vosotras decís: you all say (Spain)

Ustedes dicen: you all say, you all tell

Ellos / ellas dicen: they say, they tell

Lo mismo (the same thing) from lesson 32.

Dime and dígame: tell me

Dime is the command “tell me” for tú: di (tell) + me (me). Dígame is the polite usted version. You’ll hear ¿dígame? a lot in Spain: when a waiter comes to take your order, or when someone answers the phone.

Recap: decir (to say, to tell)

Spanish	English
yo digo	I say / tell
tú dices	you say / tell
él / ella / usted dice	he / she says, you (formal) say
nosotros / nosotras decimos	we say / tell
■■■■■■■■	■■■■■■■■
■■■■■■■■	■■■■■■■■
■■■■■■■■	■■■■■■■■

+ 3 more verb forms

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Practice: decir

Fill in the right form of decir. Say it out loud, then click to check.

1. Yo ___ la verdad. (I tell the truth.)

Yo digo la verdad.

2. ¿Tú ___ que es verdad? (Are you saying it’s true?)

¿Tú dices que es verdad?

3. Ella ___ que está aquí. (She says she’s here.)

Ella dice que está aquí.

4. Nosotros ___ la verdad.

Nosotros decimos la verdad.

5. Vosotros ___ eso ahora. (Spain)

Vosotros decís eso ahora.

6. Ellos ___ lo mismo.

Ellos dicen lo mismo.

7. Ask a friend to tell you something.

¡Dime!

Quiz: decir

9 questions. ¡Dime!

Frequently asked questions

Can I leave out “que” like in English?

No. In English you can say “he says he’s here”, but in Spanish you need que: él dice que está aquí.

What does “es decir” mean?

“That is to say” or “in other words”. You’ll hear it a lot when someone explains something: Es decir…

Before you go to the next lesson

Practice decir a few times: it’s one of the most-used verbs in Spanish. Grab the free reference sheet below. ¡Hasta la próxima!