Decir Conjugation | How to Conjugate Decir in Spanish

Decir means “to say” or “to tell” and is used to communicate words, information, opinions, and reported statements. You will learn its major irregular tense families, non-finite forms, and commands.

Decir conjugation at a glance

Verb type: Irregular. Linguistically, this verb has several irregular families affecting the present, preterite, future/conditional, subjunctive, gerund, participle, and affirmative command. Key examples are digo — “I say / tell,” dije — “I said / told,” diré — “I will say / tell,” diciendo — “saying / telling,” and dicho — “said / told.”

Decir gerund, past participle, and infinitive

The infinitive names the verb, the gerund supports progressive constructions, and the past participle combines with haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — in compound forms. With haber, the participle remains invariant for gender and number.

Form	Spanish	Natural English guide
Infinitive	decir	to say, to tell
Gerund	diciendo	saying / telling
Past participle	dicho	said / told

Decir meaning and essential uses

Use decir — “to say / to tell” — for expressing words or communicating information: Digo la verdad. — “I tell the truth.”

When a person receives the information, Spanish commonly uses an indirect-object pronoun or phrase: Le digo la respuesta a Ana. — “I tell Ana the answer.” Another frequent frame is decir que — “to say that” — followed by a clause.

Decir irregular conjugation patterns

This verb is highly irregular across several tense families. Present, preterite, future/conditional, subjunctive, gerund, participle, and affirmative-command families each require attention; the translated examples below make the major changes visible without treating the whole paradigm as unpredictable.

The main irregular families to track are digo — “I say / tell,” dije — “I said / told,” diré — “I will say / tell,” diga — “that I say / tell,” diciendo — “saying / telling,” dicho — “said / told,” and the command di — “say / tell.”

Decir indicative and periphrastic conjugations

Decir present tense conjugation

Present indicative (el presente de indicativo) — Use it for present actions, habits, facts, and current states. The explanation below follows this verb’s verified present-tense pattern. Present indicative combines several patterns: digo — “I say / tell” — is the irregular first-person form; other present persons show the stem-vowel alternation in the translated table, while the plural stem forms remain based on dec-.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	digo	I say / tell
Tú — you, singular informal	dices	you say / tell
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	dice	he / she says / tells; you say / tell (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	decimos	we say / tell
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	decís	you say / tell (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	dicen	they say / tell; you say / tell (plural)

• Digo la verdad aunque sea difícil. — I tell the truth even when it is difficult.

Decir preterite conjugation

Preterite (el pretérito perfecto simple / pretérito indefinido) — Use it for completed or bounded past events. The table shows this verb’s verified preterite family. The preterite uses the irregular stem dij-; dije — “I said / told” — and dijeron — “they said / told” — show the family. The spelling *dijieron* is nonstandard.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	dije	I said / told
Tú — you, singular informal	dijiste	you said / told
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	dijo	he / she said / told; you said / told (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	dijimos	we said / told
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	dijisteis	you said / told (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	dijeron	they said / told; you said / told (plural)

• Ayer me dijeron la noticia. — Yesterday they told me the news.

Decir imperfect conjugation

Imperfect (el pretérito imperfecto) — Use it for past habits, background descriptions, and situations viewed as ongoing. The table shows the verified imperfect forms. The imperfect is regular for an -IR verb: decía, decías, decía, decíamos, decíais, decían.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	decía	I used to say / tell / was saying / telling
Tú — you, singular informal	decías	you used to say / tell / were saying / telling
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	decía	he / she used to say / tell / was saying / telling; you used to say / tell / were saying / telling (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	decíamos	we used to say / tell / were saying / telling
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	decíais	you used to say / tell / were saying / telling (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	decían	they used to say / tell / were saying / telling; you used to say / tell / were saying / telling (plural)

• Siempre decía lo mismo. — He / she always used to say the same thing.

Decir present progressive

Present progressive — This verbal periphrasis focuses on an action or process in progress. Form it with a present form of estar — “to be” — plus the verified gerund. The progressive uses the irregular gerund diciendo — “saying / telling” — after the auxiliary.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	estoy diciendo	I am saying / telling
Tú — you, singular informal	estás diciendo	you are saying / telling
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	está diciendo	he / she is saying / telling; you are saying / telling (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	estamos diciendo	we are saying / telling
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	estáis diciendo	you are saying / telling (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	están diciendo	they are saying / telling; you are saying / telling (plural)

• Te estoy diciendo exactamente lo que pasó. — I am telling you exactly what happened.

Decir near future conjugation

Near future — This verbal periphrasis expresses a plan, intention, or expected event. Form it with a present form of ir — “to go” — plus a — “to” — and the infinitive.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	voy a decir	I am going to say / tell
Tú — you, singular informal	vas a decir	you are going to say / tell
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	va a decir	he / she is going to say / tell; you are going to say / tell (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	vamos a decir	we are going to say / tell
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	vais a decir	you are going to say / tell (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	van a decir	they are going to say / tell; you are going to say / tell (plural)

• Voy a decirles la verdad mañana. — I am going to tell them the truth tomorrow.

Decir future tense conjugation

Simple future (el futuro simple) — Use it for future reference and, where context supports it, probability. The table shows the verified future forms. The future uses the irregular stem dir-; diré — “I will say / tell” — shows the family, and the translated table supplies the remaining persons.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	diré	I will say / tell
Tú — you, singular informal	dirás	you will say / tell
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	dirá	he / she will say / tell; you will say / tell (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	diremos	we will say / tell
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	diréis	you will say / tell (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	dirán	they will say / tell; you will say / tell (plural)

• Diré mi opinión al final. — I will state my opinion at the end.

Decir conditional conjugation

Conditional (el condicional simple) — Use it for hypothetical outcomes, softened statements, or other conditional meanings supported by context. The conditional uses the same irregular stem dir-; diría — “I would say / tell” — shows the family, and the translated table supplies the remaining persons.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	diría	I would say / tell
Tú — you, singular informal	dirías	you would say / tell
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	diría	he / she would say / tell; you would say / tell (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	diríamos	we would say / tell
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	diríais	you would say / tell (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	dirían	they would say / tell; you would say / tell (plural)

• Te diría la respuesta si la supiera. — I would tell you the answer if I knew it.

Decir present perfect conjugation

Present perfect (el pretérito perfecto compuesto) — Form it with present haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus the past participle. Distribution of the present perfect varies across Spanish-speaking regions. The participle is dicho — “said / told.”

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	he dicho	I have said / told
Tú — you, singular informal	has dicho	you have said / told
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	ha dicho	he / she has said / told; you have said / told (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	hemos dicho	we have said / told
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	habéis dicho	you have said / told (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	han dicho	they have said / told; you have said / told (plural)

• He dicho todo lo necesario. — I have said everything necessary.

Decir past perfect conjugation

Past perfect (el pretérito pluscuamperfecto) — Use it for an event completed before another past reference point. Form it with imperfect haber plus the invariant past participle. The participle is dicho — “said / told.”

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	había dicho	I had said / told
Tú — you, singular informal	habías dicho	you had said / told
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	había dicho	he / she had said / told; you had said / told (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	habíamos dicho	we had said / told
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	habíais dicho	you had said / told (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	habían dicho	they had said / told; you had said / told (plural)

• Ya me habían dicho la verdad. — They had already told me the truth.

Decir future perfect conjugation

Future perfect (el futuro perfecto) — Use it for an event expected to be completed before a future reference point. Form it with future haber plus the invariant past participle. The participle is dicho — “said / told.”

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	habré dicho	I will have said / told
Tú — you, singular informal	habrás dicho	you will have said / told
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	habrá dicho	he / she will have said / told; you will have said / told (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	habremos dicho	we will have said / told
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	habréis dicho	you will have said / told (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	habrán dicho	they will have said / told; you will have said / told (plural)

• Para entonces te habré dicho mi decisión. — By then I will have told you my decision.

Decir conditional perfect conjugation

Conditional perfect (el condicional compuesto) — Use it for a hypothetical completed outcome. Form it with conditional haber plus the invariant past participle. The participle is dicho — “said / told.”

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	habría dicho	I would have said / told
Tú — you, singular informal	habrías dicho	you would have said / told
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	habría dicho	he / she would have said / told; you would have said / told (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	habríamos dicho	we would have said / told
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	habríais dicho	you would have said / told (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	habrían dicho	they would have said / told; you would have said / told (plural)

• Habría dicho lo mismo en esa situación. — I would have said the same thing in that situation.

Decir subjunctive conjugations

Decir present subjunctive conjugation

Present subjunctive (el presente de subjuntivo) — Use it in subordinate contexts involving wishes, influence, emotion, doubt or denial, evaluation, necessity, possibility, or non-specific reference. The table shows this verb’s verified present-subjunctive family. The present subjunctive uses dig-; diga — “that I say / tell” — shows the family, and the translated table supplies the remaining persons.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	diga	that I say / tell
Tú — you, singular informal	digas	that you say / tell
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	diga	that he / she say / tell; that you say / tell (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	digamos	that we say / tell
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	digáis	that you say / tell (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	digan	that they say / tell; that you say / tell (plural)

• Quiero que digas la verdad. — I want you to tell the truth.

Decir imperfect subjunctive conjugation

Imperfect subjunctive (el imperfecto de subjuntivo) — The main table uses the -ra series. The accepted -se series is also valid in many contexts and is demonstrated after the table; the two series should not be treated as mechanically interchangeable in every special construction.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	dijera	that I said / told
Tú — you, singular informal	dijeras	that you said / told
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	dijera	that he / she said / told; that you said / told (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	dijéramos	that we said / told
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	dijerais	that you said / told (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	dijeran	that they said / told; that you said / told (plural)

• Esperaban que dijéramos algo. — They expected us to say something.
• Prefería que dijeses la respuesta tú. — She preferred that you say the answer yourself.

Decir future subjunctive conjugation

Future subjunctive (el futuro de subjuntivo) — Rare in modern everyday Spanish. It survives mainly in formal, legal, proverbial, literary, or historical contexts and is included here as a reference system.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	dijere	if / when I should say / tell
Tú — you, singular informal	dijeres	if / when you should say / tell
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	dijere	if / when he / she should say / tell; if / when you should say / tell (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	dijéremos	if / when we should say / tell
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	dijereis	if / when you should say / tell (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	dijeren	if / when they should say / tell; if / when you should say / tell (plural)

• Quien dijere lo contrario deberá demostrarlo. — Whoever should say otherwise will have to prove it.

Decir present perfect subjunctive conjugation

Present perfect subjunctive (el pretérito perfecto de subjuntivo) — Use it when a completed event appears inside a present- or future-oriented subjunctive environment. Form it with present-subjunctive haber plus the invariant past participle.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	haya dicho	that I have said / told
Tú — you, singular informal	hayas dicho	that you have said / told
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	haya dicho	that he / she has said / told; that you have said / told (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	hayamos dicho	that we have said / told
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	hayáis dicho	that you have said / told (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	hayan dicho	that they have said / told; that you have said / told (plural)

• Me sorprende que hayas dicho eso. — I am surprised that you have said that.

Decir past perfect subjunctive conjugation

Past perfect subjunctive (el pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo) — The main table uses hubiera; hubiese is an accepted auxiliary alternative in many contexts and is demonstrated after the table. The past participle remains invariant.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	hubiera dicho	that I had said / told
Tú — you, singular informal	hubieras dicho	that you had said / told
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	hubiera dicho	that he / she had said / told; that you had said / told (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	hubiéramos dicho	that we had said / told
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	hubierais dicho	that you had said / told (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	hubieran dicho	that they had said / told; that you had said / told (plural)

• Si hubiéramos dicho la verdad antes, habría sido más fácil. — If we had told the truth earlier, it would have been easier.
• Si hubieses dicho tu opinión, la habríamos escuchado. — If you had stated your opinion, we would have listened to it.

Decir future perfect subjunctive conjugation

Future perfect subjunctive (el futuro perfecto de subjuntivo) — Rare in modern everyday Spanish. It is a reference form used mainly in formal, legal, literary, or historical contexts. Form it with future-subjunctive haber plus the invariant past participle.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	hubiere dicho	if / when I should have said / told
Tú — you, singular informal	hubieres dicho	if / when you should have said / told
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	hubiere dicho	if / when he / she should have said / told; if / when you should have said / told (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	hubiéremos dicho	if / when we should have said / told
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	hubiereis dicho	if / when you should have said / told (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	hubieren dicho	if / when they should have said / told; if / when you should have said / told (plural)

• Si hubieren dicho algo distinto, deberá constar por escrito. — If they should have said something different, it must be recorded in writing.

Decir imperative and commands

Commands address another person directly. Spanish uses different morphological sources depending on person and polarity; the nosotros/nosotras row is a present-subjunctive form used with exhortative “let’s…” value.

Decir affirmative commands

Use affirmative commands for direct instructions when the target verb supports that function naturally. The table includes the five core addressee or exhortative rows.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Tú — you, singular informal	di	say / tell
Usted — you, singular formal	diga	say / tell (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we; let’s…	digamos	let’s say / tell
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	decid	say / tell (plural, mainly Spain)
Ustedes — you, plural	digan	say / tell (plural)

• Di la verdad. — Tell the truth.

Decir negative commands

Negative commands use subjunctive-based forms. The particle no — “not / do not” — comes before the command form.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Tú — you, singular informal	no digas	do not say / tell
Usted — you, singular formal	no diga	do not say / tell (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we; let’s…	no digamos	let’s not say / tell
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	no digáis	do not say / tell (plural, mainly Spain)
Ustedes — you, plural	no digan	do not say / tell (plural)

• No digas eso sin pruebas. — Do not say that without evidence.

Common constructions with Decir

These target-verb patterns show sentence frames that materially affect how the verb is used.

• decir algo. — to say something.
• decirle algo a alguien. — to tell someone something.
• decir que + clause. — to say that + clause.

Example sentences with Decir

These examples reinforce the target verb across useful forms and contexts already explained in the lesson.

• Digo lo que pienso con respeto. — I say what I think respectfully.
• Me dijeron la hora correcta. — They told me the correct time.
• Estamos diciendo lo mismo. — We are saying the same thing.
• Espero que digas tu opinión. — I hope you state your opinion.
• Ya hemos dicho todo lo necesario. — We have already said everything necessary.
• Di tu nombre claramente. — Say your name clearly.

Regional and usage notes for Decir

The core tables retain tú, usted, vosotros/vosotras, and ustedes for project comparability. In regions using voseo, present-indicative and affirmative-command forms can differ from the core tú forms. The verified forms below are regional additions, not replacements for the main paradigm.

• Vos decís la verdad. — You tell the truth. (voseo)
• Decí la verdad. — Tell the truth. (affirmative vos command)

Rare and reference forms of Decir

Beyond the two rare subjunctive systems already included above, compound non-finite forms may appear in formal reference: haber dicho — “to have said / told” — and habiendo dicho — “having said / told.” These are reference forms, not additional core systems.

The irregularity becomes manageable when it is organized by tense family rather than memorized as one block. The present/subjunctive, preterite-derived, future/conditional, non-finite, and command sections each show a consistent internal pattern once the family is identified.