El Perdón
dime · dijeron · decirDime si es verdad.
Tell me if it’s true.
Me dijeron que te estás casando.
They told me you’re getting married.
Tengo que decírtelo.
I have to tell you.
Say, tell, mean, report, quote and command
The Spanish Verb DECIR
Decir means to say, to tell, and sometimes to mean. It is irregular, but its patterns are predictable: digo, dije, diré, diría, diga.
Tell me
Dime la verdad.
Tell me the truth.
Report speech
Te dije que no.
I told you no.
Meaning
¿Qué quiere decir?
What does it mean?
Correction
Quiero decir...
I mean...
Decir vs contar vs hablar
These three verbs are often translated with similar English words, but they do different jobs in Spanish. Decir transmits a message, contar tells a story or counts numbers, and hablar means to speak or talk.
| Verb | Use it for | Example | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| decir | a message, statement, opinion, command | No digas eso. | Don’t say that. |
| contar | a story, event, gossip, numbers | Cuéntame lo que pasó. | Tell me what happened. |
| hablar | speaking, talking, conversation | Hablamos luego. | We’ll talk later. |
The DECIR pattern: irregular but predictable
Decir changes its stem in the most useful tenses. Learn the stems first and the verb becomes much easier. Notice the repeating patterns: dig-, dij-, dir-.
Present
digo
I say / I tell
Preterite
dije
I said / I told
Future
diré
I will say / tell
Subjunctive
diga
that I say / tell
Pattern shortcut
HACER ↔ DECIR: learn the irregular forms together
These verbs are not identical, but several high-value irregular forms line up neatly. Learning the pairs makes both verbs easier to recall.
Present
hago ↔ digo
Preterite
hice ↔ dije
Future
haré ↔ diré
Participle
hecho ↔ dicho
Conjugation cheat sheet
| Pronoun | Present | Preterite | Imperfect | Future | Conditional | Subjunctive |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| yo | digo | dije | decía | diré | diría | diga |
| tú | dices | dijiste | decías | dirás | dirías | digas |
| él/ella/Ud. | dice | dijo | decía | dirá | diría | diga |
| nosotros | decimos | dijimos | decíamos | diremos | diríamos | digamos |
| vosotros | decís | dijisteis | decíais | diréis | diríais | digáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | dicen | dijeron | decían | dirán | dirían | digan |
Commands with decir
Commands are extremely common with decir. The most useful chunks are dime, dímelo, no digas, dígame, and even the phone-answering ¿Diga? For the full system, see the Spanish Imperatives guide and the minimalist go-verbs & imperative page.
Dime la verdad.
Tell me the truth.
Dímelo ahora.
Tell it to me now.
No digas eso.
Don’t say that.
No me digas.
Don’t tell me. / You don’t say.
¿Diga?
Hello? / Yes? (formal, especially on the phone)
Decir for meaning
In Spanish, querer decir often means to mean. This is essential for vocabulary questions and clarification.
- ¿Qué quiere decir esta palabra? What does this word mean?
- ¿Cómo se dice “however” en español? How do you say “however” in Spanish?
- No entiendo lo que dices. I don’t understand what you’re saying.
- Eso no quiere decir que sea fácil. That doesn’t mean it is easy.
Daily chunks with DECIR
Learn these chunks as complete phrases. They are much more useful than memorizing isolated conjugations.
Te dije que...
I told you that...
Ya te lo dije.
I already told you.
Me dijo que vendría.
He/She told me he/she would come.
Dicen que va a llover.
They say it will rain.
¿Qué estás diciendo?
What are you saying?
Te lo digo en serio.
I’m serious. / I mean it.
No sé qué decir.
I don’t know what to say.
Dicho y hecho.
No sooner said than done.
Lo dicho.
As agreed. / That’s what we said.
DECIR expressions you actually hear
A few high-value patterns that go beyond basic conjugation.
¿Qué dices?
What are you saying? / What?!
No me digas que...
Don’t tell me that... / You mean...?
Lo que quiero decir es que...
What I mean is that...
No estoy diciendo que...
I’m not saying that...
Si te digo la verdad...
If I’m being honest...
¿Qué quieres que te diga?
What do you want me to say? / What can I say?
Yo diría que...
I’d say that...
Digas lo que digas...
Whatever you say...
Di de una vez.
Just say it already. / Say it once and for all.
No he dicho ni mu.
I haven’t said a word.
¿Quién lo hubiera dicho?
Who would have thought?
Por así decirlo...
So to speak...
Decir que + indicative or subjunctive
This is a very important distinction. Decir que can report information, but it can also transmit a command or influence. Review the broader pattern in the Spanish Subjunctive guide. For forms like diría and habría pasado, see the Spanish Conditional guide.
Reporting facts: indicative
Dice que viene.
He says he is coming.
Dijo que estaba cansado.
He said he was tired.
Command or influence: subjunctive
Dice que vengas.
He says you should come. / He tells you to come.
Dijo que lo hicieras.
He told you to do it.
Compare: Dijo que lo hiciste reports a fact; Dijo que lo hicieras reports a command.
Quiero que me digas quién lo hizo.
I want you to tell me who did it.
No creo que me haya dicho la verdad.
I don’t think he/she has told me the truth.
Te dije que me dijeras la verdad.
I told you to tell me the truth.
Si me lo hubieras dicho antes, nada de esto habría pasado.
If you had told me earlier, none of this would have happened.
Quiero decir, es decir, o sea
These phrases help you explain, reformulate, correct yourself, or make your meaning clearer.
Quiero decir que no estoy de acuerdo.
I mean that I don’t agree.
No voy mañana; es decir, estoy ocupado.
I’m not going tomorrow; in other words, I’m busy.
O sea, no quiero ir.
I mean, I don’t want to go.
The DECIR family
These useful relatives keep much of the irregular pattern of decir. Compare the first-person forms and the future.
| Verb | Meaning | Present yo | Preterite yo | Future yo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| decir | say / tell | digo | dije | diré |
| predecir | predict | predigo | predije | predeciré / prediré |
| contradecir | contradict | contradigo | contradije | contradeciré / contradiré |
| bendecir | bless | bendigo | bendije | bendeciré |
| maldecir | curse | maldigo | maldije | maldeciré |
Pattern tip: predecir and contradecir allow two future forms. Bendecir and maldecir keep the full infinitive in the future.
Movie-style sentences with DECIR
Dime que no es verdad.
Tell me it isn’t true.
No me digas qué hacer.
Don’t tell me what to do.
Te dije que era peligroso.
I told you it was dangerous.
¿Qué quieres decir con eso?
What do you mean by that?
No dije nada.
I didn’t say anything.
Diga lo que diga, no le creas.
Whatever he says, don’t believe him.
¿Quién te dijo eso?
Who told you that?
Me lo dijeron demasiado tarde.
They told me too late.
He dicho.
I have spoken. / Final statement tone.
DECIR in music
Two short clips. Listen for high-frequency forms of decir.
Dime Cómo Quieres
dime · diga · dicenDime cómo quieres que te quiera.
Tell me how you want me to love you.
Dime qué más quieres que te diga.
Tell me what else you want me to say.
No soy tan malo como dicen por ahí.
I’m not as bad as people say.
Common mistakes with DECIR
1. Using hablar for a message
Use decir when there is a specific message.
Me dijo la verdad.
He/She told me the truth.
2. Forgetting the indirect object
In Spanish, “tell someone” often needs me, te, le, nos, os, les.
Le dije que no.
I told him/her no.
3. Confusing dije and decía
Ayer dije la verdad.
Yesterday I told the truth. Completed action.
Siempre decía la verdad.
I always used to tell the truth. Habit/background.
4. Using indicative instead of subjunctive after a command meaning
When decir que means “to tell someone to do something”, the verb after que normally uses the subjunctive.
Not for command meaning:
Me dijo que venía.
He/She told me he/she was coming. Reporting information, not a command.
Command meaning:
Me dijo que viniera.
He/She told me to come.
Quick practice: answer out loud
Use the form of decir in the question when you answer.
¿Qué dijiste?
What did you say?
¿Qué quieres decir con eso?
What do you mean by that?
¿Qué dirías tú?
What would you say?
¿Qué quieres que te diga?
What do you want me to say?
Final summary
decir
to say / to tell / sometimes to mean
to say / to tell / sometimes to mean
te dije que...
I told you that...
I told you that...
dicen que...
they say that... / people say that...
they say that... / people say that...
¿cómo se dice...?
how do you say...?
how do you say...?
es decir...
that is to say / in other words
that is to say / in other words
lo dicho
as agreed / as said before
as agreed / as said before