¿quieres ser mi esposa?
The English phrase "will you be my wife?" is translated into Spanish as ¿quieres ser mi esposa?
¿quieres ser mi esposa? is a way to ask a woman to marry you. While it literally translates to "Do you want to be my wife?" rather than "Will you be my wife?", it serves the same purpose in a proposal.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase translates literally as "Do you want to be my wife?"
Which one should you use?
You may also encounter ¿quieres casarte conmigo?, which is a very common alternative that literally means "Do you want to marry me?" Another option is ¿Te quieres casar conmigo?, which is an informal way to ask "Do you want to marry me?"
How does it change in a sentence?
The word quieres is the second-person singular informal form of the verb querer (to want).
Did you know?
- In Spanish, the word esposa has a double meaning and is also the word for 'handcuffs'.
- The verb ser used in this proposal is one of two verbs for 'to be' in Spanish and is used here because marriage is considered a permanent change in identity.
- The word esposa shares a root with the English word 'spouse' and comes from the Latin 'spōnsa', meaning 'promised'.
Examples in context
- Te amo, ¿quieres ser mi esposa?I love you, will you be my wife?
Example conversation
Javier gets down on one knee during a romantic dinner.
- JavierElena, ¿quieres ser mi esposa?Elena, will you be my wife?
- Elena¡Sí, Javier! ¡Claro que sí!Yes, Javier! Of course!
- JavierEres la mujer de mi vida.You are the woman of my life.
- ElenaTe amo mucho.I love you very much.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries esposa, mi, ser, CC BY-SA 4.0.
