leer
“leer” — to read in Spanish. Verb, level A1, topic — verbs. The two e's in a row are said separately: leh-EHR. Una persona leída is a well-read person. In a live sentence: “Leo el periódico en el metro” — I read the newspaper on the metro. You can hear how it sounds right here. One of 21 words in the set “verbs” in the Spanish course.
In short
| Written in Spanish | leer |
| Translation | to read |
| Part of speech | verb |
| Level | A1 |
- leerto read
Why it looks that way
The two e's in a row are said separately: leh-EHR. Una persona leída is a well-read person
A word with a story stays in memory longer than one learned as a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.
In a live sentence
A single word almost never appears alone in conversation. A sentence shows where it fits and what stands next to it.
- Leo el periódico en el metroI read the newspaper on the metro
Nearby words: verbs
I want, I can, I am going, I know. Twenty verbs cover more everyday sentences than two hundred nouns.
- soyto beThe I-form of ser — to be by essence: origin, profession, character. Soy de Londres, soy médico. For states and locations Spanish reaches for the other linking verb, estar: estoy bien, estoy en casa
- quieroI wantFrom querer, which also means 'to love': te quiero is 'I love you', not 'I want you'
- irto goThe most irregular verb in Spanish: of the root almost nothing survives — voy, vas, va, vamos
- comerto eatIn Spain comer also means to have lunch on its own: comemos a las dos? — shall we have lunch at two?
- beberto drinkDrinking in the plain sense. Tomar is broader and politer: tomamos algo? — shall we get something?
- hablarto speakTo speak and to talk. Saying something specific is already decir: dice que sí — he says yes
- trabajarto workThe j is a throaty h: trah-bah-HAR. Working on something is trabajar en; working as something is trabajar de
- vivirto liveTo live somewhere and to be alive. Vivir en is to live in a place, vivir de is to live on something
- tenerto haveSpanish uses it for age, hunger and cold: tengo treinta años, tengo hambre, tengo frío
- haythere is / there areAn impersonal form: it changes for no person and no number — hay un café, hay dos cafés
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “verbs”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “to read” in Spanish?
The two e's in a row are said separately: leh-EHR. Una persona leída is a well-read person
- How do you say “to work” in Spanish?
The j is a throaty h: trah-bah-HAR. Working on something is trabajar en; working as something is trabajar de
- How do you say “to go” in Spanish?
The most irregular verb in Spanish: of the root almost nothing survives — voy, vas, va, vamos
- How do you say “there is / there are” in Spanish?
An impersonal form: it changes for no person and no number — hay un café, hay dos cafés
- How do you say “to speak” in Spanish?
To speak and to talk. Saying something specific is already decir: dice que sí — he says yes
How not to forget this word
Reading a word and remembering it are different jobs. A day later, little survives of a single reading — and that is not bad memory, that is how memory works.
- This has been tested on foreign words too. The difference shows up most when you test yourself a few days later rather than straight away.checked many timesKim & Webb, 2022, Language Learning 72(2) · 48 experiments, 3,411 participants, 98 comparisons.
- Recalling beats re-reading. Covering the translation and trying to remember it does more than reading it ten more times.checked many timesAdesope, Trevisan & Sundararajan, 2017, Review of Educational Research 87(3) · 188 experiments, 272 comparisons. g = 0.61; against plain re-reading 0.51, against passive review 0.93.
- An answer you worked out yourself sticks better than one handed to you.checked many timesBertsch et al., 2007, Memory & Cognition 35(2) · 86 studies, 445 comparisons, d = 0.40.
Frequently asked
How do you say “to read” in Spanish?
«leer». In a live sentence: “Leo el periódico en el metro” — I read the newspaper on the metro. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Verb, level A1, from the set “verbs”.
Why does this word look the way it does?
The two e's in a row are said separately: leh-EHR. Una persona leída is a well-read person. A word with a story stays in memory longer than a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.
Can I hear how it sounds?
Yes, right on this page: click the word and it will play. The sound works on any phone, and nothing needs to be installed.