unirse
/uniɾse/from spelling rules
To join in Spanish is unirse.
Unirse is used when you want to express becoming a member of a group, such as a social circle, a political party, a military unit or a club. It is not used for the physical act of connecting two objects together. For that, you would use unir or juntar. While unirse is the standard way to describe joining a group, you may also see sumarte a used informally to imply adding oneself to a cause or movement or inscribirse en used formally to mean enrolling in or signing up for a course or class. Additionally, unirse a sí mismo means to join oneself.
What does it mean word for word?
The word unirse is a combination of unir, which means to unite or join and the reflexive pronoun se, which means oneself.
Which one should you use?
Use unirse specifically when the meaning is to become a member of a group. Do not use it if you are talking about physically connecting or attaching two objects.
How does it change in a sentence?
When you are joining a group, organization or activity, unirse is almost always followed by the preposition a. Because of this, if you are joining a masculine singular noun like el club, the preposition a and the article el contract to form al, resulting in the phrase unirse al.
How do you pronounce it?
/uniɾse/
Did you know?
- If you are joining a group in a spiritual or mystical sense, Spanish may use fundirse, which means 'to melt' or 'to merge' into one entity.
- In Spanish, the idea of joining a cause is often expressed as sumarse, which literally means 'to add oneself' as if you were a number in a mathematical sum.
- While unirse describes joining a club, the word afiliarse is used for joining a party or union. It implies a formal registration and the acquisition of a membership number.
Examples in context
- Tom quiere unirse al coro.Tom wants to join the choir.This sentence shows how to use unirse with a choir.Tatoeba #10170513 by manufrutos, translation #10166246 by CK
- Su solicitud para unirse al partido fue rechazada.Her application to join the party was rejected.This sentence uses unirse in the context of joining a political party.Tatoeba #1817289 by Shishir, translation #49610 by CM
- Quien quiera unirse a nuestro club será bienvenido.Whoever wants to join our club will be welcome.This sentence demonstrates using unirse to describe joining a club.Tatoeba #6634337 by UsuarioX, translation #247382 by CK
- Quiero unirme al club de lectura.I want to join the book club.
- Me inscribí en el curso de español.I enrolled in the Spanish course.
- ¿Te unes al equipo de fútbol?Do you want to join the soccer team?
- Todos se sumaron a la campaña por el medio ambiente.Everyone joined the environmental campaign.
- 7 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Sofía and Alejandro are talking about a local hiking group.
- SofíaHola Alejandro, ¿quieres unirse a nuestro grupo de senderismo?Hi Alejandro, do you want to join our hiking group?
- AlejandroSí, me encantaría unirse a ustedes el próximo sábado.Yes, I would love to join you all next Saturday.
- Sofía¡Genial! Solo tienes que llenar un formulario para unirse.Great! You just have to fill out a form to join.
- AlejandroPerfecto, lo haré ahora mismo.Perfect, I will do it right now.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry unirse, 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.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
