Which one should you use?
While divertirse focuses on the act of having fun, the verb disfrutar is used when one enjoys a specific object, experience or sensation, such as enjoying a meal.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Spain, it is common to use disfrutar to convey the idea of enjoying oneself and the phrase pasarlo bien is also prevalent and widely used there. In some Latin American countries, particularly in Mexico, the informal phrase Que la pasen rico is used to say 'have a great time'.
How does it change in a sentence?
Divertirse is a reflexive verb, which means the 'themselves' part of the English phrase is built into the conjugation using reflexive pronouns. For example, to say 'they enjoy themselves', you use the third-person plural reflexive pronoun se with the verb to get se divierten. To say 'he/she/it enjoyed himself/herself/itself', use se divirtió. Note that the verb is irregular in the preterite (past) tense, changing the stem from divert- to divirt-. For 'they enjoyed themselves' in the past tense, use se divirtieron.
How do you pronounce it?
/dibeɾˈtiɾse/
Did you know?
- The word divertir is a cognate of the English 'divert'. Originally, having fun was viewed as diverting one's attention away from the boredom or stress of daily life.
- The phrase pasarlo bien uses the verb pasar, which means to pass or spend time. In English we 'have' a good time, but in Spanish you 'pass' a good time.
- In some regions like Mexico, the word rico is used in the phrase que la pasen rico to describe a fun experience, even though 'rico' is most commonly associated with 'rich' or 'tasty' food.
Examples in context
- Espero que disfruten de la velada y se diviertanI hope you enjoy the evening and have fun
- Que disfruten de la ocasión y se diviertanEnjoy the occasion and have fun
- ¡Diviértanse y pásenlo bien!Have fun and enjoy yourselves!
- ¡Que la pasen rico en la playa!Have a great time at the beach!
- Espero que disfrutéis de la fiestaI hope you enjoy the party
- ¡Diviértete aprendiendo español!Enjoy learning Spanish!
- Los niños se divierten en el parque.The children enjoy themselves in the park.
- Los niños quieren divertirse en el parque.The children want to enjoy themselves in the park.
- Ellos solo quieren divertirse con la música.They just want to enjoy themselves with the music.
Example conversation
Javier and Sofía are talking about a party they attended.
- JavierHola Sofía, ¿te gustó la fiesta de ayer?Hi Sofía, did you like yesterday's party?
- SofíaSí, todos pudimos divertirse mucho.Yes, we were all able to have a great time.
- JavierYo también me lo pasé muy bien.I had a very good time too.
- SofíaFue una noche increíble para todos.It was an incredible night for everyone.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry divertirse, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
