Te quiero or te amo?
Te quiero is the everyday "I love you": for your partner, family and close friends. Te amo is deeper and more romantic, mostly for partners (and more common in Latin America). To order politely, say quisiera (I would like): quisiera un café, por favor.
Indicative tenses of querer
Facts and things that happen: the tenses you'll use most.
Present indicative
| yo | quieroI want |
|---|---|
| tú | quieresyou want |
| él/ella/usted | quierehe/she wants |
| nosotros/as | queremoswe want |
| vosotros/as | queréisyou all want |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | quierenthey want |
Stem change e → ie, except for nosotros and vosotros: queremos, queréis.
Preterite indicative
| yo | quiseI wanted |
|---|---|
| tú | quisisteyou wanted |
| él/ella/usted | quisohe/she wanted |
| nosotros/as | quisimoswe wanted |
| vosotros/as | quisisteisyou all wanted |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | quisieronthey wanted |
Imperfect indicative
| yo | queríaI used to want |
|---|---|
| tú | queríasyou used to want |
| él/ella/usted | queríahe/she used to want |
| nosotros/as | queríamoswe used to want |
| vosotros/as | queríaisyou all used to want |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | queríanthey used to want |
Present continuous indicative
| yo | estoy queriendoI am wanting |
|---|---|
| tú | estás queriendoyou are wanting |
| él/ella/usted | está queriendohe/she is wanting |
| nosotros/as | estamos queriendowe are wanting |
| vosotros/as | estáis queriendoyou all are wanting |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | están queriendothey are wanting |
estar + gerund
Informal future indicative
| yo | voy a quererI am going to want |
|---|---|
| tú | vas a quereryou are going to want |
| él/ella/usted | va a quererhe/she is going to want |
| nosotros/as | vamos a quererwe are going to want |
| vosotros/as | vais a quereryou all are going to want |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | van a quererthey are going to want |
ir a + infinitive
Future indicative
| yo | querréI will want |
|---|---|
| tú | querrásyou will want |
| él/ella/usted | querráhe/she will want |
| nosotros/as | querremoswe will want |
| vosotros/as | querréisyou all will want |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | querránthey will want |
Double r: querré (the e of the infinitive drops).
Conditional indicative
| yo | querríaI would want |
|---|---|
| tú | querríasyou would want |
| él/ella/usted | querríahe/she would want |
| nosotros/as | querríamoswe would want |
| vosotros/as | querríaisyou all would want |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | querríanthey would want |
Present perfect indicative
| yo | he queridoI have wanted |
|---|---|
| tú | has queridoyou have wanted |
| él/ella/usted | ha queridohe/she has wanted |
| nosotros/as | hemos queridowe have wanted |
| vosotros/as | habéis queridoyou all have wanted |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | han queridothey have wanted |
haber (present) + past participle
Past perfect indicative
| yo | había queridoI had wanted |
|---|---|
| tú | habías queridoyou had wanted |
| él/ella/usted | había queridohe/she had wanted |
| nosotros/as | habíamos queridowe had wanted |
| vosotros/as | habíais queridoyou all had wanted |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | habían queridothey had wanted |
haber (imperfect) + past participle
Future perfect indicative
| yo | habré queridoI will have wanted |
|---|---|
| tú | habrás queridoyou will have wanted |
| él/ella/usted | habrá queridohe/she will have wanted |
| nosotros/as | habremos queridowe will have wanted |
| vosotros/as | habréis queridoyou all will have wanted |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | habrán queridothey will have wanted |
haber (future) + past participle
Conditional perfect indicative
| yo | habría queridoI would have wanted |
|---|---|
| tú | habrías queridoyou would have wanted |
| él/ella/usted | habría queridohe/she would have wanted |
| nosotros/as | habríamos queridowe would have wanted |
| vosotros/as | habríais queridoyou all would have wanted |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | habrían queridothey would have wanted |
haber (conditional) + past participle
Subjunctive tenses of querer
Wishes, doubts, emotions and "if" sentences.
Present subjunctive
| yo | quiera(that) I want |
|---|---|
| tú | quieras(that) you want |
| él/ella/usted | quiera(that) he/she wants |
| nosotros/as | queramos(that) we want |
| vosotros/as | queráis(that) you all want |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | quieran(that) they want |
Imperfect subjunctive
| yo | quisiera / quisiese(if) I wanted |
|---|---|
| tú | quisieras / quisieses(if) you wanted |
| él/ella/usted | quisiera / quisiese(if) he/she wanted |
| nosotros/as | quisiéramos / quisiésemos(if) we wanted |
| vosotros/as | quisierais / quisieseis(if) you all wanted |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | quisieran / quisiesen(if) they wanted |
Quisiera… is a very polite way to say "I would like…".
Future subjunctive
| yo | quisiere(if) I want |
|---|---|
| tú | quisieres(if) you want |
| él/ella/usted | quisiere(if) he/she wants |
| nosotros/as | quisiéremos(if) we want |
| vosotros/as | quisiereis(if) you all want |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | quisieren(if) they want |
rarely used: legal & formal texts
Present perfect subjunctive
| yo | haya querido(that) I have wanted |
|---|---|
| tú | hayas querido(that) you have wanted |
| él/ella/usted | haya querido(that) he/she has wanted |
| nosotros/as | hayamos querido(that) we have wanted |
| vosotros/as | hayáis querido(that) you all have wanted |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | hayan querido(that) they have wanted |
haber (present subj.) + past participle
Past perfect subjunctive
| yo | hubiera querido(if) I had wanted |
|---|---|
| tú | hubieras querido(if) you had wanted |
| él/ella/usted | hubiera querido(if) he/she had wanted |
| nosotros/as | hubiéramos querido(if) we had wanted |
| vosotros/as | hubierais querido(if) you all had wanted |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | hubieran querido(if) they had wanted |
haber (imperfect subj.) + past participle
Future perfect subjunctive
| yo | hubiere querido(if) I will have wanted |
|---|---|
| tú | hubieres querido(if) you will have wanted |
| él/ella/usted | hubiere querido(if) he/she will have wanted |
| nosotros/as | hubiéremos querido(if) we will have wanted |
| vosotros/as | hubiereis querido(if) you all will have wanted |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | hubieren querido(if) they will have wanted |
rarely used: legal & formal texts
Imperative tenses of querer
Commands and instructions.
Affirmative imperative
| tú | quierewant! |
|---|---|
| usted | quierawant! (formal) |
| nosotros/as | queramoslet's want! |
| vosotros/as | queredwant! (you all) |
| ustedes | quieranwant! (you all, formal) |
Rare, apart from ¡quiéreme! (love me!).
Negative imperative
| tú | no quierasdon't want! |
|---|---|
| usted | no quieradon't want! (formal) |
| nosotros/as | no queramoslet's not want! |
| vosotros/as | no queráisdon't want! (you all) |
| ustedes | no quierandon't want! (you all, formal) |
Practice querer
Two quick exercises. No sign-up, no app: just you and querer.
How to use querer
Quiero un café, por favor.
I'd like a coffee, please.
¿Quieres venir?
Do you want to come?
Te quiero mucho.
I love you a lot.
Quisiera reservar una mesa.
I'd like to book a table.
¿Qué quiere decir esto?
What does this mean?
Example sentences with querer
- ¿Qué quieres hacer hoy?What do you want to do today?
- Te quiero.I love you.
- No quise molestarte.I didn't mean to bother you.
- De niño quería ser astronauta.As a kid I wanted to be an astronaut.
- ¿Querrás venir mañana?Will you want to come tomorrow?
- Querría hablar contigo.I'd like to talk to you.
- Haz lo que quieras.Do whatever you want.
- Quisiera un café, por favor.I'd like a coffee, please.
Verbs like querer
Like querer (quiero), these verbs change e → ie in the present. Poder also has a short future: podré, like querré.
Frequently asked questions about querer
Is querer regular or irregular?
Querer is irregular: a stem change in the present (quiero), an irregular preterite (quise), a short future (querré) and the subjunctive quiera. The imperfect (quería), gerund (queriendo) and participle (querido) are regular.
How do you conjugate querer in the present tense?
quiero, quieres, quiere, queremos, queréis, quieren.
How do you conjugate querer in the preterite?
quise, quisiste, quiso, quisimos, quisisteis, quisieron. In the negative it often means "refused": no quiso venir (he refused to come).
What is the difference between "te quiero" and "te amo"?
Te quiero is the everyday "I love you" for partners, family and friends. Te amo is deeper and more romantic, mostly for a partner.
What does "querer decir" mean?
"To mean": ¿qué quiere decir esta palabra? (what does this word mean?).
What is the past participle of querer?
The past participle is querido (he querido, I have wanted). As an adjective it means "dear": querido amigo.
Free cheat sheet
All 18 tenses of querer, on one page.
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