publicar
/publiˈkaɾ/
The English phrase "posting" is translated into Spanish as publicar.
The verb publicar is used to describe the act of sharing content, such as text or images, on a website or social media platform. You can also use publicar en to specify the platform where the content is being posted, such as publicar en Facebook. While publicar is the standard term, you may also encounter compartir, which means "to share" and subir, which means "to upload", when referring to posting or sharing content on various websites and platforms.
Which one should you use?
Publicar is a versatile verb used both for the digital act of "posting" content online and for the traditional act of "publishing" a book or an article.
How does it change in a sentence?
The infinitive publicar is used to mean "to post" content. If you want to express the continuous form "is posting", use the gerund publicando. To express that something has been "posted", use the past participle publicado.
How do you pronounce it?
/publiˈkaɾ/
Did you know?
- In many Latin American countries, you might hear people use the anglicism postear instead of the proper publicar when talking about social media.
- The verb publicar also describes the traditional act of announcing a marriage or a legal decree in a public square.
- While subir means 'to upload', it also literally means 'to go up' or 'to climb', so you can 'upload' a photo and 'climb' a mountain using the same verb.
Examples in context
- Tom creó varias frases y se las pasó corriendo a María antes de publicarlas en Tatoeba.Tom thought up several sentences and ran them past Mary before posting them on Tatoeba.This sentence is useful for seeing how to use publicar when referring to the act of posting content online.Tatoeba #5053874 by albrusgher, translation #2991772 by patgfisher
- Estoy publicando un artículo en mi blog.I am posting an article on my blog.
- Estoy compartiendo una foto en Facebook.I am posting a photo on Facebook.
- Voy a poner una foto en mi perfil de Instagram.I'm going to post a photo on my Instagram profile.
- Estoy subiendo un video a YouTube.I am uploading a video to YouTube.
- Voy a publicar una foto en Instagram.I am going to post a photo on Instagram.
- Él no dejó de publicar noticias hoy.He did not stop posting news today.
Example conversation
Lucía and Javier are discussing their social media activity.
- Lucía¿Vas a publicar el video nuevo?Are you going to post the new video?
- JavierSí, lo voy a publicar esta noche.Yes, I am going to post it tonight.
- LucíaMe encanta cuando publicas contenido así.I love it when you post content like that.
- JavierGracias, Lucía, qué amable eres.Thanks, Lucía, you are very kind.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry publicar, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
