visto
/ˈbisto/
The Spanish word for seen is visto.
The word visto is the past participle of the verb to see and is used to describe something that has been observed.
Which one should you use?
In the perfect tenses, such as he visto, the form visto is invariable and does not change to match gender or number, unlike its use as an adjective.
How does it change in a sentence?
When using the participle as an adjective or with the verb ser, it must agree in gender and number with the noun: use visto for masculine singular, vista for feminine singular, vistos for masculine plural and vistas for feminine plural. When used with the auxiliary verb haber to form perfect tenses, the form visto remains invariable regardless of the gender or number of the object.
How do you pronounce it?
/ˈbisto/
Did you know?
- The word visto is an unexpected relative of the English word 'wit'. Both descend from the Proto-Indo-European root *weyd-, which relates to seeing and knowing.
- If someone says they have been dejado en visto, it means they were 'left on read' in a messaging app, meaning the other person saw the message but did not reply.
- While it means 'seen', the phrase dar el visto bueno uses visto to mean giving one's official approval or 'the green light' to a project.
Examples in context
- No lo he visto.I haven't seen it.This sentence uses visto to show a negative perfect tense in the first person.Tatoeba #2688473 by Shishir, translation #2360242 by CK
- No lo has visto.You have not seen it.This sentence uses visto to show a negative perfect tense in the second person.Tatoeba #1242570 by Shishir, translation #1742434 by belgavox
- No la has visto.You have not seen her.Tatoeba #1742438 by Shishir, translation #1742433 by belgavox
- He visto la presentación y me parece excelente.I have seen the presentation, and it seems excellent to me.
- ¡Mira esta foto! ¡Está chévere!Look at this photo! It's cool!
- Él ha presenciado muchos cambios a lo largo de su vida.He has witnessed many changes throughout his life.
- 649 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
María and Javier are talking about a new movie.
- María¿Has visto la película nueva?Have you seen the new movie?
- JavierSí, ya la he visto.Yes, I have already seen it.
- María¿Te ha gustado?Did you like it?
- JavierSí, es lo mejor que he visto este año.Yes, it's the best thing I've seen this year.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry visto, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries visto, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
