What does it mean word for word?
The verb is formed by combining casar (to marry/to join) with the reflexive pronoun se (oneself), literally meaning "to marry oneself" to indicate the act of entering a marriage.
Which one should you use?
The phrase contraer matrimonio is a formal way to say "getting married" in Spanish.
How does it change in a sentence?
Because casarse is a reflexive verb, you must use reflexive pronouns (me, te, se, nos, os, se) to indicate who is getting married. For example, use se casan for "they get married". Note that if you use the non-reflexive form casar, it means to perform the act of marrying someone else (like a priest performing a ceremony) rather than the act of getting married yourself.
How do you pronounce it?
/kasaɾse/
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often mistakenly omit the reflexive pronoun and say Ellos casan instead of Ellos se casan when they mean "They are getting married".
Did you know?
- Because casar means to join or match, the word is also used in contexts like casar colores to mean matching colors in fashion or design.
- In many Spanish-speaking countries, it is common to casarse twice: first in a boda civil for the law and then in a boda religiosa for the church.
- While casarse is the standard term, the formal expression contraer matrimonio literally means 'to contract a marriage', treating the union as a binding legal contract.
Examples in context
- Casarse es cosa seria.Getting married is a serious matter.Tatoeba #1854788 by marcelostockle, translation #238700 by CK
- María soñaba con casarse.Mary used to dream about getting married.Tatoeba #3458162 by marcelostockle, translation #1030047 by CK
- Ellos están pensando en casarse.They're thinking about getting married.Tatoeba #2944765 by hayastan, translation #2486552 by Hybrid
- Juan y María se van a casar el próximo mes.Juan and María are getting married next month.
- La pareja decidió contraer matrimonio en una ceremonia íntima.The couple decided to get married in an intimate ceremony.
- Después de ocho años juntos, finalmente decidieron darse el sí.After eight years together, they finally decided to tie the knot.
- 6 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Javier and Sofía are talking about their future plans.
- JavierSofía, ¿tienes ganas de casarse pronto?Sofía, do you feel like getting married soon?
- SofíaNo, prefiero esperar unos años más.No, I prefer to wait a few more years.
- JavierEntiendo, casarse es una decisión muy importante.I understand, getting married is a very important decision.
- SofíaExacto, debemos estar muy seguros.Exactly, we must be very sure.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry casarse, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
