estaba cansado
/estaba kansado/from spelling rules
The English phrase "I was tired" is translated into Spanish as estaba cansado.
This phrase is used to describe a past state of feeling exhausted or in need of sleep. While estaba cansado is the most common way to state this, you might use estaba agotado/agotada to convey a sense of exhaustion or me sentía agotado/agotada to specifically emphasize the feeling of being exhausted. If you want to say you were very sleepy, you can use tenía mucho sueño. For more formal or specific nuances, fatigado means fatigued and extenuado means weary.
What does it mean word for word?
The word estaba is the imperfect indicative form of the verb estar (to be), which is used here to describe a continuous state in the past.
Which one should you use?
estaba cansado describes an ongoing state or a background condition in the past. In contrast, estuve cansado is used to describe a completed period of being tired that had a specific beginning and end.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In some Latin American countries, you may hear the expression estaba reventado/reventada instead of estaba agotado/agotada.
How does it change in a sentence?
The adjective must agree with the gender of the speaker. A male speaker would say estaba cansado, while a female speaker must use the feminine form estaba cansada.
Did you know?
- In Spain, if you want to say you are 'dead tired', you might use the phrase estoy hecho polvo, meaning 'I am made of dust'.
- If you are truly exhausted in many parts of Latin America, you might say estoy reventado, which literally translates to 'I am burst' or 'I am popped', implying you have been worked until you burst.
- Using the verb cansar allows you to say me cansé, which can mean both 'I got tired' and 'I gave up' on a task.
Examples in context
- Tom me preguntó si estaba cansado.Tom asked me if I was tired.This example shows how to use the phrase when reporting a question about one's state.Tatoeba #3445432 by marcelostockle, translation #2956000 by CK
- Estaba cansado, así que no lo hice.I was tired, so I didn't do that.This example shows how to provide a reason for an action based on being tired.Tatoeba #7715004 by arh, translation #7713190 by CK
- Estaba cansado, pero seguí trabajando.I was tired, but continued working.This example shows how to describe a state that persisted despite an action.Tatoeba #661318 by Shishir, translation #661150 by Eldad
- 17 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Alejandro and Elena are talking about why he fell asleep during a movie.
- AlejandroPerdón, me dormí porque estaba cansado.Sorry, I fell asleep because I was tired.
- ElenaNo te preocupes, Alejandro.Don't worry, Alejandro.
- AlejandroSí, realmente estaba cansado ayer.Yes, I was really tired yesterday.
- ElenaDeberías descansar más, entonces.You should rest more, then.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
