sonreír
/sonreˈiɾ/
To smile in Spanish is sonreír.
The verb sonreír is the most common and general way to express the act of forming a pleased or amused expression by curving the mouth upwards. To add nuance to how someone smiles, you can combine it with adverbs. For example, use sonreír felizmente to say "to smile happily" or sonreír suavemente to say "to smile gently".
How does it change in a sentence?
The verb changes based on the tense and subject you wish to use. For example, the first-person singular preterite form is sonreí (I smiled) and the second-person singular preterite form is sonreíste (you smiled). The form sonreímos is identical in both the present indicative and the preterite indicative for the first-person plural, meaning it can mean "we smile" or "we smiled" depending on the context. If you want to describe a continuous or habitual action of smiling in the past, use the imperfect indicative form sonreía (I was smiling or I used to smile).
How do you pronounce it?
/sonreˈiɾ/
Did you know?
- Even though the prefix 'son-' looks like it could be a separate word, it is actually a remnant of the Latin prefix 'sub-', which means 'under' or 'below'.
- In many Spanish-speaking cultures, a smile can be used as a polite 'buffer' to soften a refusal or a disagreement, avoiding direct conflict in social interactions.
- If you want to say someone is 'grinning' or smiling widely, you might use the phrase reírse instead of sonreír, even though 'reír' usually means 'to laugh'.
Examples in context
- Tom intentó sonreír, pero no pudo.Tom tried to smile, but couldn't.This sentence shows an attempt to use the form sonreír.Tatoeba #2162958 by Shishir, translation #1092618 by CK
- Los dos nos pusimos a sonreír casi al mismo tiempo.Both of us began to smile almost at the same time.This sentence shows the use of the form sonreír.Tatoeba #1606062 by marcelostockle, translation #249540 by CK
- Siempre traté de ser estricto con ellos y no sonreír.I always tried to be strict with them and not to smile.Tatoeba #1606067 by marcelostockle, translation #260837 by CK
- Cuando alguien me hace reír, no puedo evitar sonreír.When someone makes me laugh, I can't help but smile.
- A pesar de las dificultades, ella siempre sonreía felizmente.Despite the difficulties, she always smiled happily.
- Juan sonrió suavemente al ver el atardecer.Juan smiled gently when he saw the sunset.
- Paula sonreía fulgurantemente al recibir su premio.Paula beamed radiantly when she received her award.
- 5 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Lucía and Javier are taking a photo together.
- Lucía¡Mira a la cámara y sonreír!Look at the camera and smile!
- JavierEstoy nervioso, no sé cómo sonreír.I'm nervous, I don't know how to smile.
- LucíaSolo piensa en algo divertido para sonreír.Just think of something funny to smile.
- JavierEstá bien, ya puedo sonreír.Okay, I can smile now.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry sonreír, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries sonreír, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
