estudiar
/estuˈdjaɾ/
The English verb "study" is translated into Spanish as estudiar.
estudiar is used to express the act of acquiring knowledge or learning a specific subject. You can use the phrase ponerse a estudiar to mean "to start studying". If you want to use a colloquial expression to say "to give it your all when studying", you can say echarle ganas al estudio.
Meaning: to acquire knowledge (verb)
Which one should you use?
While estudiar means to study a subject or a field of knowledge, it is not typically used to mean "to examine" a person or a physical object. For that, you would use examinar.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
estudiar is a regular -ar verb. In the present indicative, it follows the pattern: estudio, estudias, estudia, estudiamos, estudiáis and estudian. In the preterite (past) tense, it follows the standard regular -ar conjugation pattern: estudié, estudiaste, estudió, estudiamos, estudiasteis and estudiaron.
How do you pronounce it?
/estuˈdjaɾ/
Did you know?
- The phrase estudiar el terreno literally means 'to study the ground' but is used idiomatically to mean 'scouting the situation'.
- Students in Spain often use the term estudiar a tope to describe studying intensely or reaching their absolute limit.
- In some contexts, estudiar is used to mean 'to consider' or 'to ponder' a decision, such as estudiar una propuesta.
Examples in context
- ¿Debo ir a estudiar?Do I have to go study?This sentence uses estudiar to ask about the necessity of going to study.Tatoeba #9993899 by manufrutos, translation #11180919 by DJ_Saidez
- Yo que tú estudiaría.I'd study if I were you.This sentence uses estudiar to give advice to study.Tatoeba #6630302 by arh, translation #9531034 by DJ_Saidez
- Voy a estudiar alemán.I will study German.This sentence uses estudiar to express the intention to study a language.Tatoeba #1494625 by marcelostockle, translation #1494382 by CM
- Estudio español.I study Spanish.
- Investigamos ciencias sociales en ese proyecto.We study social sciences in that project.
- Me voy a poner a estudiar ahora.I'm going to study now.
- Me voy a poner a estudiar ahora para el examen.I'm going to study now for the exam.
- Necesitas echarle ganas al estudio para el examen.You need to really study for the exam
- Tienes que echarle ganas al estudio si quieres aprobar.You need to really study if you want to pass.
- 429 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Mateo and Lucía are talking about their plans for the afternoon.
- Mateo¿Quieres ir al café conmigo?Do you want to go to the cafe with me?
- LucíaNo puedo, necesito estudiar.I can't, I need to study.
- MateoEntiendo, Lucía, mucha suerte.I understand, Lucía, good luck.
- LucíaGracias, Mateo.Thanks, Mateo.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “study” translations and entries estudiar, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
