Disculparse Conjugation | How to Conjugate Disculparse in Spanish

Disculparse means “to apologize,” “to say sorry,” or “to ask for indulgence.” You will learn its regular pronominal -AR conjugation, clitic placement, por/de patterns, and commands.

Disculparse conjugation at a glance

Verb type: Regular AR. RAE explicitly records disculparse as asking indulgence for harm caused or potentially caused. The pronominal paradigm is regular: me disculpo, te disculpas, se disculpa....

Disculparse gerund, past participle, and infinitive

The pronominal infinitive keeps se. The gerund can carry an attached clitic, and compound non-finite forms combine the clitic with haber. The participle disculpado remains invariant in compound forms.

Form	Spanish	Natural English guide
Infinitive	disculparse	to apologize
Gerund	disculpándose	apologizing
Past participle	disculpado	apologized
Compound infinitive	haberse disculpado	to have apologized
Compound gerund	habiéndose disculpado	having apologized

Disculparse meaning and essential uses

RAE’s pronominal sense is “to ask indulgence” for something that caused or could cause harm. In natural English this is usually “to apologize”: Me disculpo por el retraso. — “I apologize for the delay.”

Use disculparse por + noun / infinitive for the reason and disculparse con alguien when naming the person with whom one apologizes.

Disculparse conjugation pattern and pronoun placement

Disculparse follows regular -AR verbal morphology. Add the matching clitic before finite forms.

Affirmative commands attach the clitic: discúlpate, discúlpese, disculpémonos, disculpaos, discúlpense. Negative commands keep the clitic before the finite subjunctive form.

Disculparse indicative and periphrastic conjugations

Disculparse present tense conjugation

Present indicative (el presente de indicativo) — Use it for current situations, habits, facts, and contextually near-future reference. The table uses the verified paradigm.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	me disculpo	I apologize
Tú — you, singular informal	te disculpas	you apologize
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	se disculpa	he / she apologizes; you apologize (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	nos disculpamos	we apologize
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	os disculpáis	you apologize (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	se disculpan	they apologize; you apologize (plural)

• Me disculpo por el retraso. — I apologize for the delay.

Disculparse preterite conjugation

Preterite (el pretérito perfecto simple / pretérito indefinido) — Use it for completed or bounded past events. The table uses the verified paradigm.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	me disculpé	I apologized
Tú — you, singular informal	te disculpaste	you apologized
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	se disculpó	he / she apologized; you apologized (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	nos disculpamos	we apologized
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	os disculpasteis	you apologized (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	se disculparon	they apologized; you apologized (plural)

• Ayer me disculpé con Marta. — Yesterday I apologized to Marta.

Disculparse imperfect conjugation

Imperfect (el pretérito imperfecto) — Use it for habitual, descriptive, background, or ongoing past situations. The clitic precedes the finite form of haber, followed by invariant disculpado.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	me disculpaba	I used to apologize / was apologizing
Tú — you, singular informal	te disculpabas	you used to apologize / were apologizing
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	se disculpaba	he / she used to apologize / was apologizing; you used to apologize / were apologizing (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	nos disculpábamos	we used to apologize / were apologizing
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	os disculpabais	you used to apologize / were apologizing (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	se disculpaban	they used to apologize / were apologizing; you used to apologize / were apologizing (plural)

• Antes nos disculpábamos por cualquier error pequeño. — We used to apologize for every small mistake.

Disculparse present progressive

Present progressive — This verbal periphrasis focuses on an action or process in progress. The main table places the clitic before estar. Attaching it to the gerund is also standard: estoy disculpándome.

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

• Me estoy disculpando por mi comentario. — I am apologizing for my comment.

Disculparse near future conjugation

Near future — This verbal periphrasis expresses an intention, plan, or expected event. The main table places the clitic before ir. Attaching it to the infinitive is also standard: voy a disculparme.

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

• Me voy a disculpar con el equipo. — I am going to apologize to the team.

Disculparse future tense conjugation

Simple future (el futuro simple) — Use it for future reference and, where useful, probability. The table uses the verified paradigm.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	me disculparé	I will apologize
Tú — you, singular informal	te disculparás	you will apologize
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	se disculpará	he / she will apologize; you will apologize (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	nos disculparemos	we will apologize
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	os disculparéis	you will apologize (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	se disculparán	they will apologize; you will apologize (plural)

• Nos disculparemos por la confusión. — We will apologize for the confusion.

Disculparse conditional conjugation

Conditional (el condicional simple) — Use it for hypothetical outcomes, softened statements, or related conditional meanings. The table uses the verified paradigm.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	me disculparía	I would apologize
Tú — you, singular informal	te disculparías	you would apologize
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	se disculparía	he / she would apologize; you would apologize (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	nos disculparíamos	we would apologize
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	os disculparíais	you would apologize (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	se disculparían	they would apologize; you would apologize (plural)

• Me disculparía si hubiera cometido ese error. — I would apologize if I had made that mistake.

Disculparse present perfect conjugation

Present perfect (el pretérito perfecto compuesto) — Use it for completed events connected to a present reference frame; regional distribution varies. The clitic precedes the finite form of haber, followed by invariant disculpado.

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

• Me he disculpado con todos. — I have apologized to everyone.

Disculparse past perfect conjugation

Past perfect (el pretérito pluscuamperfecto) — Use it for an event completed before another past reference point. The clitic precedes the finite form of haber, followed by invariant disculpado.

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

• Ya nos habíamos disculpado por el problema. — We had already apologized for the problem.

Disculparse future perfect conjugation

Future perfect (el futuro perfecto) — Use it for an event expected to be completed before a future reference point. The clitic precedes the finite form of haber, followed by invariant disculpado.

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

• Para entonces se habrán disculpado públicamente. — By then they will have apologized publicly.

Disculparse conditional perfect conjugation

Conditional perfect (el condicional compuesto) — Use it for a hypothetical completed outcome. The clitic precedes the finite form of haber, followed by invariant disculpado.

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

• Me habría disculpado antes con más información. — I would have apologized earlier with more information.

Disculparse subjunctive conjugations

Disculparse present subjunctive conjugation

Present subjunctive (el presente de subjuntivo) — Use it in subordinate environments involving wishes, influence, emotion, doubt or denial, evaluation, necessity, possibility, or non-specific reference. The table uses the verified paradigm.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	me disculpe	that I apologize
Tú — you, singular informal	te disculpes	that you apologize
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	se disculpe	that he / she apologize; that you apologize (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	nos disculpemos	that we apologize
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	os disculpéis	that you apologize (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	se disculpen	that they apologize; that you apologize (plural)

• Quiero que te disculpes con Marta. — I want you to apologize to Marta.

Disculparse 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 clitic precedes the finite form of haber, followed by invariant disculpado.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	me disculpara	that I apologized
Tú — you, singular informal	te disculparas	that you apologized
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	se disculpara	that he / she apologized; that you apologized (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	nos disculpáramos	that we apologized
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	os disculparais	that you apologized (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	se disculparan	that they apologized; that you apologized (plural)

• Preferían que nos disculpáramos por escrito. — They preferred that we apologize in writing.
• Era mejor que te disculpases inmediatamente. — It was better for you to apologize immediately.

Disculparse 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. These rare reference forms belong mainly to formal, legal, proverbial, literary, or historical registers.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	me disculpare	if / when I should apologize
Tú — you, singular informal	te disculpares	if / when you should apologize
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	se disculpare	if / when he / she should apologize; if / when you should apologize (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	nos disculpáremos	if / when we should apologize
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	os disculpareis	if / when you should apologize (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	se disculparen	if / when they should apologize; if / when you should apologize (plural)

• Quien se disculpare por escrito deberá identificar el asunto. — Whoever should apologize in writing must identify the matter.

Disculparse 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. The clitic precedes the finite form of haber, followed by invariant disculpado.

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

• Me alegra que te hayas disculpado. — I am glad that you apologized.

Disculparse 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 clitic precedes the finite form of haber, followed by invariant disculpado.

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

• Si me hubiera disculpado antes, habríamos evitado la discusión. — If I had apologized earlier, we would have avoided the argument.
• Si te hubieses disculpado con Marta, habría aceptado la explicación. — If you had apologized to Marta, she would have accepted the explanation.

Disculparse future perfect subjunctive conjugation

Future perfect subjunctive (el futuro perfecto de subjuntivo) — Rare in modern everyday Spanish. Treat it as a formal or historical reference form, not an everyday conversational target. The clitic precedes the finite form of haber, followed by invariant disculpado.

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

• Si se hubieren disculpado por nuevos errores, deberán documentarlos. — If they should have apologized for new errors, they must document them.

Disculparse imperative and commands

Commands address another person directly. The nosotros/nosotras row is a present-subjunctive form used with exhortative “let’s…” value.

Disculparse affirmative commands

In affirmative pronominal commands, attach the clitic and recompute accentuation. The nosotros/nosotras form loses final -s before nos, and the usual vosotros/vosotras form loses -d before os.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Tú — you, singular informal	discúlpate	apologize
Usted — you, singular formal	discúlpese	apologize (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we; let’s…	disculpémonos	let’s apologize
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	disculpaos	apologize (plural, mainly Spain)
Ustedes — you, plural	discúlpense	apologize (plural)

• Discúlpate por lo que dijiste. — Apologize for what you said.

Disculparse negative commands

Negative commands use subjunctive-based forms, with no before the person-matched clitic and the verb.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Tú — you, singular informal	no te disculpes	do not apologize
Usted — you, singular formal	no se disculpe	do not apologize (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we; let’s…	no nos disculpemos	let’s not apologize
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	no os disculpéis	do not apologize (plural, mainly Spain)
Ustedes — you, plural	no se disculpen	do not apologize (plural)

• No te disculpes por hacer una pregunta razonable. — Do not apologize for asking a reasonable question.

Common constructions with Disculparse

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

• disculparse por + noun / infinitive. — to apologize for something / doing something.
• disculparse con alguien. — to apologize to / with someone.
• disculparse ante + person / group, especially formal contexts. — to apologize before / to a person or group.

Example sentences with Disculparse

These examples reinforce useful forms and contexts already taught in the lesson.

• Me disculpo por la interrupción. — I apologize for the interruption.
• Voy a disculparme con Ana. — I am going to apologize to Ana.
• Estoy disculpándome por el error. — I am apologizing for the mistake.
• Espero que te disculpes sinceramente. — I hope you apologize sincerely.
• Se han disculpado públicamente. — They have apologized publicly.
• Discúlpense si han causado molestias. — Apologize if you have caused inconvenience.

Regional and usage notes for Disculparse

The core tables retain tú, usted, vosotros/vosotras, and ustedes. Voseo changes some second-person singular forms where vos is used.

• Vos te disculpás por el retraso. — You apologize for the delay. (voseo)
• Disculpate con Marta. — Apologize to Marta. (affirmative vos command)

Disculparse is fully regular morphologically. Focus on the pronominal clitic and the reason/person patterns: disculparse por something and disculparse con someone.