Nací en… (I was born in…)
Don't translate "I was born" word for word. Just use the preterite of nacer: Nací en Ámsterdam (I was born in Amsterdam), ¿Dónde naciste? (Where were you born?). For a date: Nací el 3 de mayo. Related: el nacimiento (birth), Navidad comes from the same root.
Indicative tenses of nacer
Facts and things that happen: the tenses you'll use most.
Present indicative
| yo | nazcoI am born |
|---|---|
| tú | nacesyou are born |
| él/ella/usted | nacehe/she is born |
| nosotros/as | nacemoswe are born |
| vosotros/as | nacéisyou all are born |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | nacenthey are born |
Only the yo form is irregular: c → zc (nazco).
Preterite indicative
| yo | nacíI was born |
|---|---|
| tú | nacisteyou were born |
| él/ella/usted | nacióhe/she was born |
| nosotros/as | nacimoswe were born |
| vosotros/as | nacisteisyou all were born |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | nacieronthey were born |
Spanish uses the preterite for "was born": nací en 1999, never soy nacido.
Imperfect indicative
| yo | nacíaI used to be born |
|---|---|
| tú | nacíasyou used to be born |
| él/ella/usted | nacíahe/she used to be born |
| nosotros/as | nacíamoswe used to be born |
| vosotros/as | nacíaisyou all used to be born |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | nacíanthey used to be born |
Present continuous indicative
| yo | estoy naciendoI am being born |
|---|---|
| tú | estás naciendoyou are being born |
| él/ella/usted | está naciendohe/she is being born |
| nosotros/as | estamos naciendowe are being born |
| vosotros/as | estáis naciendoyou all are being born |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | están naciendothey are being born |
estar + gerund
Informal future indicative
| yo | voy a nacerI am going to be born |
|---|---|
| tú | vas a naceryou are going to be born |
| él/ella/usted | va a nacerhe/she is going to be born |
| nosotros/as | vamos a nacerwe are going to be born |
| vosotros/as | vais a naceryou all are going to be born |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | van a nacerthey are going to be born |
ir a + infinitive
Future indicative
| yo | naceréI will be born |
|---|---|
| tú | nacerásyou will be born |
| él/ella/usted | naceráhe/she will be born |
| nosotros/as | naceremoswe will be born |
| vosotros/as | naceréisyou all will be born |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | naceránthey will be born |
Conditional indicative
| yo | naceríaI would be born |
|---|---|
| tú | naceríasyou would be born |
| él/ella/usted | naceríahe/she would be born |
| nosotros/as | naceríamoswe would be born |
| vosotros/as | naceríaisyou all would be born |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | naceríanthey would be born |
Present perfect indicative
| yo | he nacidoI have been born |
|---|---|
| tú | has nacidoyou have been born |
| él/ella/usted | ha nacidohe/she has been born |
| nosotros/as | hemos nacidowe have been born |
| vosotros/as | habéis nacidoyou all have been born |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | han nacidothey have been born |
haber (present) + past participle
Past perfect indicative
| yo | había nacidoI had been born |
|---|---|
| tú | habías nacidoyou had been born |
| él/ella/usted | había nacidohe/she had been born |
| nosotros/as | habíamos nacidowe had been born |
| vosotros/as | habíais nacidoyou all had been born |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | habían nacidothey had been born |
haber (imperfect) + past participle
Future perfect indicative
| yo | habré nacidoI will have been born |
|---|---|
| tú | habrás nacidoyou will have been born |
| él/ella/usted | habrá nacidohe/she will have been born |
| nosotros/as | habremos nacidowe will have been born |
| vosotros/as | habréis nacidoyou all will have been born |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | habrán nacidothey will have been born |
haber (future) + past participle
Conditional perfect indicative
| yo | habría nacidoI would have been born |
|---|---|
| tú | habrías nacidoyou would have been born |
| él/ella/usted | habría nacidohe/she would have been born |
| nosotros/as | habríamos nacidowe would have been born |
| vosotros/as | habríais nacidoyou all would have been born |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | habrían nacidothey would have been born |
haber (conditional) + past participle
Subjunctive tenses of nacer
Wishes, doubts, emotions and "if" sentences.
Present subjunctive
| yo | nazca(that) I be born |
|---|---|
| tú | nazcas(that) you be born |
| él/ella/usted | nazca(that) he/she is born |
| nosotros/as | nazcamos(that) we be born |
| vosotros/as | nazcáis(that) you all be born |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | nazcan(that) they be born |
Imperfect subjunctive
| yo | naciera(if) I were born |
|---|---|
| tú | nacieras(if) you were born |
| él/ella/usted | naciera(if) he/she were born |
| nosotros/as | naciéramos(if) we were born |
| vosotros/as | nacierais(if) you all were born |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | nacieran(if) they were born |
Future subjunctive
| yo | naciere(if) I be born |
|---|---|
| tú | nacieres(if) you be born |
| él/ella/usted | naciere(if) he/she is born |
| nosotros/as | naciéremos(if) we be born |
| vosotros/as | naciereis(if) you all be born |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | nacieren(if) they be born |
rarely used: legal & formal texts
Present perfect subjunctive
| yo | haya nacido(that) I have been born |
|---|---|
| tú | hayas nacido(that) you have been born |
| él/ella/usted | haya nacido(that) he/she has been born |
| nosotros/as | hayamos nacido(that) we have been born |
| vosotros/as | hayáis nacido(that) you all have been born |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | hayan nacido(that) they have been born |
haber (present subj.) + past participle
Past perfect subjunctive
| yo | hubiera nacido(if) I had been born |
|---|---|
| tú | hubieras nacido(if) you had been born |
| él/ella/usted | hubiera nacido(if) he/she had been born |
| nosotros/as | hubiéramos nacido(if) we had been born |
| vosotros/as | hubierais nacido(if) you all had been born |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | hubieran nacido(if) they had been born |
haber (imperfect subj.) + past participle
Future perfect subjunctive
| yo | hubiere nacido(if) I will have been born |
|---|---|
| tú | hubieres nacido(if) you will have been born |
| él/ella/usted | hubiere nacido(if) he/she will have been born |
| nosotros/as | hubiéremos nacido(if) we will have been born |
| vosotros/as | hubiereis nacido(if) you all will have been born |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | hubieren nacido(if) they will have been born |
rarely used: legal & formal texts
Imperative tenses of nacer
Commands and instructions.
Affirmative imperative
| tú | nacebe born! |
|---|---|
| usted | nazcabe born! (formal) |
| nosotros/as | nazcamoslet's be born! |
| vosotros/as | nacedbe born! (you all) |
| ustedes | nazcanbe born! (you all, formal) |
Negative imperative
| tú | no nazcasdon't be born! |
|---|---|
| usted | no nazcadon't be born! (formal) |
| nosotros/as | no nazcamoslet's not be born! |
| vosotros/as | no nazcáisdon't be born! (you all) |
| ustedes | no nazcandon't be born! (you all, formal) |
Practice nacer
Two quick exercises. No sign-up, no app: just you and nacer.
How to use nacer
Nací en 1999.
I was born in 1999.
¿Dónde naciste?
Where were you born?
Su hija nació ayer.
Her daughter was born yesterday.
El río nace en las montañas.
The river rises in the mountains.
Ella nació para esto.
She was born for this.
Example sentences with nacer
- Mis padres nacieron en Colombia.My parents were born in Colombia.
- Cada día nacen miles de bebés.Thousands of babies are born every day.
- El bebé nacerá en marzo.The baby will be born in March.
- Cuando nací, mi padre tenía 30 años.When I was born, my father was 30.
- Así nació la idea del canal.That is how the idea for the channel was born.
- Espero que nazca sano.I hope he is born healthy.
- No ha nacido todavía.He hasn't been born yet.
- Si hubiera nacido en España, hablaría español.If I'd been born in Spain, I'd speak Spanish.
Verbs like nacer
Nacer follows the -zco pattern of conocer, parecer and crecer (to grow up).
Frequently asked questions about nacer
Is nacer regular or irregular?
Nacer is irregular only in the present yo form (nazco) and the present subjunctive (nazca).
How do you say "I was born" in Spanish?
Nací — the preterite of nacer. Nací en 1999.
How do you conjugate nacer in the preterite?
nací, naciste, nació, nacimos, nacisteis, nacieron.
How do you conjugate nacer in the present tense?
nazco, naces, nace, nacemos, nacéis, nacen.
How do you ask "where were you born?"
¿Dónde naciste? (informal) or ¿Dónde nació usted? (formal).
What is the past participle of nacer?
The past participle is nacido and the gerund is naciendo.
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