Ways to say it
| Spanish | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| extrañar | /eɡstɾaˈɲaɾ/ | Latin America |
| echar de menos | /eˌt͡ʃaɾ de ˈmenos/ | |
| añorar | /aɲoˈɾaɾ/ | |
| hacer falta | /aθeɾ falta/ (Spain, from spelling rules) /aseɾ falta/ (Latin America, from spelling rules) |
|
| missear | /misseaɾ/ (from spelling rules) | US |
The verb is used to express the feeling of absence or the want of a person or thing. When you use extrañar to express that you miss a person, you must include the personal 'a' before that person, for example, Extraño a mi madre.
Which one should you use?
While extrañar is the common way to express missing someone in Latin America, echar de menos is the standard way to express this in Spain. For a more poetic or intense sense of missing something, such as a deep, nostalgic longing for the past or a lost time, use añorar.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
Missear is a slang Spanglish term used primarily by Spanish speakers in the US, often within the context of gaming or digital interactions.
Is it said differently in some regions?
Extrañar is common in Latin America. In Spain, echar de menos is the standard form. Missear is a term used in the US. Additionally, the phrase hacer falta can be used regionally to mean missing someone or something.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
When using the phrase hacer falta to mean 'to miss', the person or thing being missed becomes the subject of the verb rather than the object.
How do you pronounce it?
/eɡstɾaˈɲaɾ/
Did you know?
- While extrañar means 'to miss' in Latin America, in Spain it is more frequently used to mean 'to find something strange'.
- The phrase echar de menos exists because of a historical mistake where speakers confused the word achar meaning 'to find' with echar meaning 'to throw'.
- In Spanish, saying me haces falta implies that the other person is a necessary part of your life, rather than just a feeling of sadness.
Examples in context
- Te voy a extrañar.I'll miss you.This sentence shows how to use extrañar.Tatoeba #1246313 by marcelostockle, translation #71632 by CK
- La voy a extrañar.I'm going to miss her.This sentence demonstrates using extrañar.Tatoeba #8769531 by SemperAutumnus, translation #3911944 by CH
- Extrañaré a Tom, también.I'll miss Tom, too.This sentence illustrates using extrañar.Tatoeba #3562863 by ficion, translation #3329981 by CK
- Buenos días, señorita López. ¿En qué puedo ayudarle hoy?Good morning, Miss Lopez. How can I assist you today?
- 40 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Sofía and Mateo are talking at the airport before his flight.
- SofíaTe voy a extrañar mucho, Mateo.I am going to miss you a lot, Mateo.
- MateoYo también te voy a extrañar, Sofía.I am going to miss you too, Sofía.
- Sofía¿Extrañarás mucho a tu familia allá?Will you miss your family a lot there?
- MateoSí, los voy a extrañar cada día.Yes, I am going to miss them every day.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “miss” translations and entries extrañar, echar de menos, añorar, hacer falta, missear, 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.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries añorar, de, echar, echar de menos, extrañar, hacer, hacer falta, menos, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
