barrer
/baˈreɾ/
To sweep in Spanish is barrer.
The most common term for the action of cleaning a floor with a broom is barrer. You can use this verb with various objects, such as barrer la calle to describe the act of sweeping the street.
How does it change in a sentence?
If you wish to express continuous action, the gerund form is barriendo (sweeping). The past participle is barrido (swept). To express the future tense in the first-person singular, you would use barreré (I will sweep).
How do you pronounce it?
/baˈreɾ/
Did you know?
- In Spanish, the word barrido can describe a cinematic technique where the camera moves horizontally to capture a wide scene, similar to a 'pan'.
- If you are in a high-end restaurant in Spain and see a waiter performing a 'barrido de mesa', they are not sweeping the floor. They are performing a professional service of quickly clearing away crumbs from a table.
- A barrido also refers to a 'sweep' in sports, such as a sliding tackle in soccer to clear the ball away from an attacker.
Examples in context
- Mary quiere barrer la casa.Mary wants to sweep the house.This sentence shows how to use barrer with a subject and a location.Tatoeba #1496811 by marcelostockle, translation #1496797 by Spamster
- Tienes que barrer el suelo.You have to sweep the floor.This sentence demonstrates using barrer to describe cleaning a floor.Tatoeba #1751819 by Shishir, translation #10006693 by DJ_Saidez
- Necesitamos barrer el polvo.We need to sweep up the dust.This sentence illustrates how to use barrer with the object 'the dust'.Tatoeba #1386310 by marcelostockle, translation #680757 by Source_VOA
- Necesito barrer el suelo antes de que lleguen los invitados.I need to sweep the floor before the guests arrive.
- Por favor, limpie con una escoba el patio trasero.Please sweep the backyard with a broom.
- Me toca barrer la calle hoy.It's my turn to sweep the street today.
- 2 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Sofía and Alejandro are cleaning their apartment.
- SofíaAlejandro, ¿puedes barrer la sala?Alejandro, can you sweep the living room?
- AlejandroSí, voy a barrer ahora mismo.Yes, I am going to sweep right now.
- SofíaGracias, yo limpiaré las ventanas.Thanks, I will clean the windows.
- AlejandroPerfecto, así terminamos rápido.Perfect, that way we finish quickly.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry barrer, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
