Expressions with "Querer"

Quick Answer

We hear the phrase yo quieroeverywhere, from Taco Bell advertisements to Luis Fonsi’s “Despacito.” Even if your Spanish is limited, you are probably familiar with the verb querer, which typically translates as to want or to love. Read on for a more detailed overview of the most common uses of this essential verb.

Conjugating Querer

Querer is an irregular verb in most forms and tenses. Click here to review its conjugations!

Talking About Your Desires

You can talk about what you want by using a noun after a conjugated form of querer. To talk about what you want to do, use an infinitive after querer.

examples
Quiero un café. I want a coffee.
Quiero dormir. I want to sleep.

Talking about your desires in the present tense is pretty simple, but it can get a little tricky in the past tense. When used in the past tense, querer can take on a slightly different meaning, depending on if it's conjugated in the preterite or imperfect and whether it’s used affirmatively or negatively.

Verb	Tense	Meaning
querer	preterite	tried/wanted (at a specific point in time)
querer	imperfect	wanted (over a period of time)
no querer	preterite	refused/didn’t mean/didn’t want (at a specific point in time)
no querer	imperfect	didn’t want (over a period of time)

Let’s take a look at a few examples of querer in the present, preterite, and imperfect.

examples
Los niños quieren helado. The children want ice cream.
Queremos ir al cine. We want to go to the movies.
Quise hablar con mi novio, pero mis padres me lo impidieron. I tried to talk to my boyfriend, but my parents prevented it.
La invitó a ir a la fiesta, pero no quiso hacerlo. He asked her to go to the party, but she refused to.
Perdón. No quise ofenderte. Sorry. I didn't mean to offend you.
De niño, quería ser bombero. As a child, he wanted to be a firefighter.
No quería casarse con Ricardo. She didn’t want to marry Ricardo.

Expressing Affection

There are two verbs in Spanish used to express your love for somebody: amarand querer. Amar is usually reserved for your media naranja(soulmate) or for very close family members. Querer, on the other hand, can be used with just about anyone you love!

Querer is used with:

Friends
Extended family members
A romantic partner who you really care about, but who you're not ready to say a forever kind of I love you to.

Let's take a look at some examples.

examples
¡Te quiero, Marisol! No sé lo que haría sin tu apoyo. I love you, Marisol! I don’t know what I would do without your support.
Qué feliz me haces, Pedro. Te quiero. You make me so happy, Pedro. I love you.

Querer + Que

Querer is commonly used with quewhen you want someone to do something. When followed by que, querer always triggers the subjunctive.

Check out these examples.

examples
Quiero que limpies tu habitación. I want you to clean your room.
Quería que me dijera lo que pasó. I wanted him to tell me what happened.

Using Querer at a Restaurant

When ordering food in Spanish, you can definitely get your point across by conjugating querer in the present tense followed by a food. However, it is more polite to use the imperfect subjunctive form quisiera. You will also sound more like a native Spanish speaker.

Let’s put this into practice!

examples
Quisiera el filete de ternera con ensalada. I would like the filet of veal with salad.
Quisiera un vaso de agua. I would like a glass of water.

Querer Decir

When you combine querer with the verb decir, you create a compound phrase that translates as to mean. We use querer decir to ask for a translation or to clarify what someone is trying to express.

examples
No sé qué quiere decir “escalfar”. I don't know what “escalfar” means.
¿Qué quieres decir? ¿Estás insinuando que todo es culpa mía? What do you mean? Are you suggesting that it’s all my fault?

Additional Expressions Using Querer

Expression in Spanish	Meaning in English
sin querer	accidentally/unintentionally
lo que quieras	whatever you want
como quieras	however you want
cuando quieras	whenever you want
donde quieras	wherever you want
querer es poder	where there's a will there's a way
querer la chancha y los cuatro reales	to want to have the best of both worlds
las penas del querer	pangs of love
siempre que quieras	as long as you want to