How do you say “I want to learn Spanish”… in Spanish?
All you need to know is how to use the irregular Spanish verb querer (to want)!
Learn how to express your deepest desires and say what you want in Spanish with confidence thanks to this guide.
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How to Use Querer (to Want) in Spanish
The verb for expressing your wants in Spanish is querer
.
To say that you want to do something, just follow this formula:
(Yo) quiero + infinitive
And if you want an item, use this one:
(Yo) quiero + (article) noun
As you can see, the yo (I) is implied in the formulas above, so you can just leave it out.
Here are some examples:
Conjugating querer
As you’ve noticed by now, the verb querer, like all Spanish verbs, changes forms depending on who’s doing the wanting.
Unfortunately, querer is an irregular Spanish verb. Fortunately, it follows a pattern that’s pretty simple to remember. It’s a stem-changing verb, which means that it changes in a fairly predictable way.
Here’s a quick look at the conjugation of querer in the present tense for reference:
You can see the verb’s conjugations in other tenses over at SpanishDict and practice them on Conjuguemos.
For more context, see the verb in use by native Spanish speakers on the video-based learning program, FluentU.
More ways to use querer
The Spanish verb querer has more uses than the simple “to want.” Here are some more common ways to use querer in Spanish:
- Asking for something: Querer + Noun
Example: ¿Quieres café?
(Do you want coffee?) - Expressing love or affection: Querer + a + Person
Example: Quiero mucho a mi hija.
(I love my daughter so much.) - Talking about preferences: Querer + Noun
Example: Quiero la camisa azul.
(I want the blue shirt.) - Expressing willingness or readiness: Querer + Infinitive
Example: Quiero ayudarte (I want to help you).
- Making offers: Querer + Infinitive
Example: ¿Quieres que te ayude?
(Do you want me to help you?)
Common phrases that use querer
And finally, there are some phrases where the verb is used in other contexts. Here are a few of the most common phrases with querer that you might hear in everyday conversation:
Other Ways to Say “I Want” in Spanish
Do you want to move beyond querer? There are a few other ways to say “I want” in Spanish that don’t use the most common verb. To add some variety to your conversations, use these other ways for expressing desires in Spanish:
If you want to say “I want” in Spanish, these are all the phrases you can use. Plus, you’ve mastered how to use the Spanish verb querer. Now you can talk about your wants with ease!
And One More Thing…
If you’ve made it this far that means you probably enjoy learning Spanish with engaging material and will then love FluentU.
Other sites use scripted content. FluentU uses a natural approach that helps you ease into the Spanish language and culture over time. You’ll learn Spanish as it’s actually spoken by real people.
FluentU has a wide variety of videos, as you can see here:
FluentU brings native videos within reach with interactive transcripts. You can tap on any word to look it up instantly. Every definition has examples that have been written to help you understand how the word is used. If you see an interesting word you don’t know, you can add it to a vocab list.
Review a complete interactive transcript under the Dialogue tab, and find words and phrases listed under Vocab.
Learn all the vocabulary in any video with FluentU’s robust learning engine. Swipe left or right to see more examples of the word you’re on.
The best part is that FluentU keeps track of the vocabulary that you’re learning, and gives you extra practice with difficult words. It’ll even remind you when it’s time to review what you’ve learned. Every learner has a truly personalized experience, even if they’re learning with the same video.
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