quería
/keɾia/from spelling rules
In Spanish, quería means "I wanted".
quería is used to describe a desire or intention in the past. When you want to express an intention to perform an action, you typically follow quería directly with an infinitive verb, such as quería comer (I wanted to eat).
Which one should you use?
quería is the imperfect tense, which describes an ongoing state of wanting or a background desire in the past without a specific beginning or end. In contrast, the preterite form quise often implies a specific attempt or a sudden decision to want something.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
Using the imperfect quería instead of the present tense quiero can function as a way to soften a request or make it sound more polite, similar to "I was wanting" or "I would like" in English.
How do you pronounce it?
/keɾia/
Did you know?
- The verb querer, which forms quería, is the same verb used to say 'to love' when referring to people.
- The word quería is a relative of the English word 'care', as both trace back to the Latin root for affection and desire.
- In some Spanish dialects, the opposite of querer is not just 'not wanting', but no querer, which can translate to 'to refuse'.
Examples in context
- Quería ir a París.I wanted to go to Paris.This sentence shows how to use quería to express an intention to go somewhere.Tatoeba #1722941 by Shishir, translation #1722127 by kerbear407
- Quería irme a casa.I wanted to go home.This sentence shows how to use quería to express an intention to go home.Tatoeba #2096429 by Shishir, translation #1887906 by CK
- Quería decir que no.I wanted to say no.This sentence shows how to use quería to express an intention to say something.Tatoeba #2049190 by Shishir, translation #1887909 by CK
- Quería hablar contigo sobre el proyecto.I wanted to talk to you about the project.
- Deseaba solicitar una reunión para discutir el tema importante.I wanted to request a meeting to discuss the important matter.
- Quería ir al cine pero no tenía tiempo.I wanted to go to the movies, but I didn't have time.
- Quería dormir hasta tarde hoy.I wanted to sleep in today.
- Quería visitar España el año pasado.I wanted to visit Spain last year.
- 280 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Sofía and Mateo are talking about a movie they missed.
- SofíaYo quería ver esa película ayer.I wanted to see that movie yesterday.
- MateoYo también, pero no había entradas.Me too, but there were no tickets.
- SofíaPensé que quería ir contigo, Mateo.I thought I wanted to go with you, Mateo.
- MateoPodemos ir al cine el próximo sábado.We can go to the cinema next Saturday.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
