{"id":143075,"date":"2023-07-27T09:32:05","date_gmt":"2023-07-27T13:32:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/advanced-spanish-verbs\/"},"modified":"2025-06-02T07:39:56","modified_gmt":"2025-06-02T11:39:56","slug":"advanced-spanish-verbs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/spanish\/advanced-spanish-verbs\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Advanced Spanish Verbs"},"content":{"rendered":"

Instead of using the same old verbs like tener<\/em>, salir, querer<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0and those other trusty friends you learned back in beginners’ class, at some point, you have to broaden your verb vocabulary.<\/p>\n

That’s why we came up with this handy list of ten advanced Spanish verbs ready to be used by you.<\/p>\n

Read them, familiarize yourself with them and then start using them!<\/p>\n

[fluentu-toc]<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Advanced Spanish Verbs You Should Know<\/h2>\n

1. Acostumbrarse<\/em> \u2014 To be used (to)\/accustomed (to)<\/h3>\n

\"Woman<\/a><\/p>\n

This is one you might not have learned earlier on, and means “to be\/get used to”<\/strong> something.<\/p>\n

It’s a reflexive regular verb, so it needs\u00a0a reflexive pronoun before the conjugated verb, or, when in the infinitive, after the verb:<\/p>\n

Me acostumbr\u00e9 <\/em><\/strong>a la vida en Espa\u00f1a.<\/em> (I got used to my life in Spain.)<\/p>\n

Tengo que acostumbrarme <\/strong>a mi nuevo trabajo.\u00a0<\/em>(I need to get used to my new job).<\/p>\n

Notice that we use this reflexive verb with the preposition\u00a0“a,”\u00a0<\/em>making it one of many Spanish phrasal verbs<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

2. Agarrar<\/em> \u2014 To grab\/grasp\/hold on to\u00a0<\/h3>\n

\"Woman<\/a><\/p>\n

Agarrar<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>is a regular verb with a tricky pronunciation because of the\u00a0rr<\/em> sound, but it sounds great if you can manage it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Idioms with agarrar<\/em> <\/strong>include\u00a0agarrar a golpes<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0(to fight or beat someone), agarrar el dinero<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>(to steal the money) and agarrar a besos<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>(to kiss intensely).<\/p>\n

For example:<\/p>\n

Agarra <\/em><\/strong>bien tu bolsa porque hay ladrones por ac\u00e1.<\/em> (Hold on tightly to your bag because there are thieves around here.)<\/p>\n

Tengo que agarrar <\/strong>mis llaves y vamos. <\/em>(I need to grab my keys and let’s go.)<\/p>\n

Note that in some Latin American countries, the verb’s reflexive form agarrarse<\/strong> <\/em>has a sexual connotation and can mean that a couple kissed or even had sex:<\/p>\n

Nos agarramos<\/strong> ayer<\/em>. <\/em>(We kissed\/had sex yesterday.)<\/p>\n

3. Bostezar<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>\u2014 To yawn<\/h3>\n

\"Man<\/a><\/p>\n

This verb means “to yawn.”<\/strong><\/p>\n

It might not be a particularly advanced word in itself, but it’s the kind of verb that often gets missed out of Spanish textbooks<\/a> or classes.<\/p>\n

Here’s an example:<\/p>\n

Yo <\/em>bostezo <\/em><\/strong>cada vez que escucho m\u00fasica relajante<\/em>. (I yawn every time I listen to relaxing music.)<\/p>\n

4. Contradecir<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>\u2014 To contradict<\/h3>\n

\"Small<\/a><\/p>\n

Contradecir<\/em><\/strong>, which means “to contradict,” <\/strong>is actually two words shoved together. Contra<\/em>\u00a0means “against or opposite”\u00a0and decir<\/em>\u00a0means “to say.” The combination of the two logically means “to contradict.”<\/p>\n

Contradecir<\/em> is usually followed by the preposition a<\/em>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The verb is irregular and follows the same patterns as decir<\/em>, so in the preterite tense, it conjugates to form sentences like:\u00a0<\/p>\n

Luc\u00eda <\/em>contradijo <\/em><\/strong>a su hermano.<\/em> (Luc\u00eda contradicted her brother.)<\/p>\n

This verb can also be a reflexive verb\u2014to contradict oneself\u2014contradecirse.<\/strong><\/em> An example of this is:\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Me<\/strong> contradigo <\/strong>todo el tiempo.\u00a0<\/em>(I am always contradicting myself.)<\/p>\n

5. Chiflar<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>\u2014 To whistle \/ be excited about \/ be crazy about<\/h3>\n

\"Man<\/a><\/p>\n

Chiflar<\/em> <\/strong>means to whistle, but it’s actually more often used to mean being excited or crazy about something.\u00a0Chiflar<\/em> <\/strong>can also mean to boo or hiss at someone.<\/p>\n

Here’s a couple examples:<\/p>\n

Me <\/em>chifla <\/em><\/strong>el chocolate. <\/em>(I’m crazy about chocolate.)<\/p>\n

Caminando por el bosque, chiflo <\/strong>para imitar el canto de los p\u00e1jaros. <\/em>(While walking through the forest, I whistle to imitate the song of the birds.)<\/p>\n

6. Desmayarse<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>\u2014 To faint<\/h3>\n

\"Woman<\/a><\/p>\n

This one means “to faint.”<\/strong>\u00a0Perhaps useful on a hot day when you’re not properly hydrated (which too often happens to travelers in Latin America<\/a>).\u00a0<\/p>\n

It’s another reflexive verb and is regular.<\/p>\n

Here’s an example:<\/p>\n

\u00a1Me desmay\u00e9!<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0(I fainted!)<\/p>\n

7. Estornudar<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>\u2014 To sneeze<\/h3>\n

\"Man<\/a><\/p>\n

While we’re on bodily functions, another useful verb is estornudar<\/strong><\/em>, which means to sneeze.<\/p>\n

Related vocabulary is: pa\u00f1uelo<\/em>\u00a0(tissue or handkerchief.)<\/p>\n

This word also has a nice idiom associated with it: el mundo es un pa\u00f1uelo<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>(the world is a handkerchief), which is similar to the phrase “it’s a small world.”<\/p>\n

Here’s an example sentence using this verb:<\/p>\n

Necesito <\/em>estornudar <\/em><\/strong>pero no puedo.<\/em>\u00a0(I need to sneeze but I can’t.)<\/p>\n

8. Ladrar<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>\u2014 To bark\u00a0<\/h3>\n

\"Dog<\/a><\/p>\n

Did you know that animals in Spanish make different noises than they do in English?<\/p>\n

That’s right. Spanish dogs don’t woof, they guau guau.\u00a0<\/em>Cats ronronean<\/em> when they purr and roosters go quiquiriqu\u00ed.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

But the actual verb for “barking” is ladrar <\/em>(and yes, a person can bark, too).<\/p>\n

For example:<\/p>\n

\u00a1El perro est\u00e1<\/em> ladrando<\/em><\/strong> muy fuerte! <\/em>(The dog is barking really loudly.)<\/p>\n

9. Porfiar<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>\u2014 To insist\/persevere\u00a0<\/h3>\n

\"Cacti<\/a><\/p>\n

Porfiar<\/em> <\/strong>actually means to insist or persevere with something.<\/p>\n

It’s an irregular verb, since in the first person there’s an accent on the i<\/em><\/strong> in some forms, it goes: porf\u00edo, porf\u00edas, porf\u00eda, porfiamos, porfi\u00e1is, porf\u00edan<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Here’s an example sentence:<\/p>\n

Porfi\u00f3<\/strong> y al final solucion\u00f3 el problema.<\/em> (He persisted and eventually solved the problem.)<\/p>\n

10. Quejarse<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>\u2014 To complain\/groan\/moan<\/h3>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

Another reflexive verb, quejarse<\/em> <\/strong>means to complain, groan or moan.<\/p>\n

It’s a particularly useful one when traveling, since grumpy, jet-lagged people have the tendency to complain about missed flights, bad service and lost luggage.<\/p>\n

Here’s an example:\u00a0<\/p>\n

Me quej\u00e9 <\/em><\/strong>porque no me gust\u00f3 la comida.<\/em> (I complained because I didn’t like the food.)<\/p>\n

You can also use\u00a0quejarse de<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0to complain about<\/em> something:<\/p>\n

Mi t\u00eda siempre se queja de<\/strong>\u00a0todo.<\/em> (My aunt is always complaining about everything.)<\/p>\n

Why Learn Advanced Spanish Verbs?<\/h2>\n

A verb is like the backbone of a sentence. Not only does it convey a lot of the meaning, it also tells us what time period we’re talking about.<\/a><\/p>\n

At an intermediate or advanced Spanish level, it’s a good idea to swap your basic verbs for those of a more sophisticated caliber. Just like one progresses to finer wines with age, or moves on from speaking like a two-year-old.<\/p>\n

While we’re not suggesting you cut out basic verbs like ser,<\/em>\u00a0estar<\/em>,\u00a0<\/a>tener<\/em>\u00a0and haber<\/em>, it’s good to have a few other options up your sleeve for when you want to impress\u2014or simply speak normally, naturally and fluently. One great option for hearing advanced Spanish verbs in context is FluentU<\/a>.

FluentU<\/strong> takes authentic videos\u2014like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks\u2014and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.<\/p>\r\n

You can try FluentU for free for 2 weeks. Check out the website or download the iOS app<\/a> or Android app.<\/a><\/p>\r\n

P.S. Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month)<\/a><\/i>\r\n<\/p>\r\n \r\n\r\n \"FluentU\r\n

\r\n