How to Conjugate Decir in Spanish — All Tenses with Examples
You know what decir means, but the moment you need it in a real sentence, your brain stalls: digo, dije, diré, diga… and suddenly none of it feels automatic. That’s the problem with decir: it’s common, useful, and packed with irregular forms that show up everywhere in Spanish conversation.
Quick answer: Decir means to say or to tell, and it changes irregularly in the present, preterite, future, conditional, subjunctive, imperative, gerund, and past participle. The biggest patterns to remember are digo, dije, diré, diga, dijera, di, diciendo, and dicho.
If you want to speak naturally, you need more than recognition. You need to be able to produce these forms under pressure — exactly the kind of active recall practice we build into VerbPal drills.
What decir means and how Spanish uses it
Decir is one of the most important verbs in Spanish because it covers both saying and telling. English splits those ideas across several patterns, but Spanish often uses one verb:
- Decir la verdad → to tell the truth
- Decir algo → to say something
- Decirle a alguien algo → to tell someone something
Examples:
- Te digo la verdad. (I’m telling you the truth.)
- ¿Qué dices? (What are you saying?)
- Mi madre me dijo que no fuera. (My mother told me not to go.)
Because decir appears constantly in speech, news, instructions, and storytelling, it’s worth drilling until the forms come out automatically. In VerbPal, we treat verbs like this as high-priority targets because they give you the biggest return in real conversations.
The two big meanings: “say” vs “tell”
Spanish doesn’t always make the same distinction English does, so decir often needs a pronoun or an indirect object.
*Dice que está cansado.* (He says that he is tired.)
*Le dije la verdad.* (I told him/her the truth.)
A useful habit: when you learn decir, always learn it with a full sentence pattern, not in isolation. That’s the principle behind our active-production drills in VerbPal.
Action step: Write three full sentence frames with decir: one for “say,” one for “tell,” and one with an indirect object pronoun such as me, te, or le.
Present tense of decir
The present tense is where decir first shows its irregularity. The yo form is completely irregular: digo. Then the stem changes e → i in the other singular and third-person plural forms: dices, dice, dicen.
| Pronoun | Form | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | digo | I say / I tell |
| tú | dices | you say / you tell |
| él/ella | dice | he/she says / tells |
| nosotros | decimos | we say / tell |
| vosotros | decís | you all say / tell (Spain) |
| ellos/ellas | dicen | they say / tell |
Examples:
- Yo digo la verdad. (I tell the truth.)
- ¿Qué dices? (What are you saying?)
- Ellos dicen que sí. (They say yes.)
Why the present tense matters
The present tense of decir appears in everyday speech more often than many learners expect. In corpus-based Spanish, high-frequency verbs like decir account for a substantial share of spoken interaction; the RAE’s CREA corpus is a reminder that common verbs dominate real language use, not textbook tables. If you can’t produce digo and dice instantly, you’ll feel the gap in conversation.
That’s why our VerbPal drills focus on output, not just recognition: you need to type the form before the answer appears. We also recycle these high-frequency forms with spaced repetition using the SM-2 algorithm, so digo does not disappear from memory a week after you study it.
Pro tip: Drill just four present forms first — digo, dices, dice, dicen — then add decimos and decís once the stem-change pattern feels automatic.
Preterite tense of decir
The preterite is one of the most important tenses for decir, and it’s also one of the most irregular.
The stem changes to dij- in most forms, and the ellos/ellas form is dijeron — not dijieron.
| Pronoun | Form | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | dije | I said / told |
| tú | dijiste | you said / told |
| él/ella | dijo | he/she said / told |
| nosotros | dijimos | we said / told |
| vosotros | dijisteis | you all said / told (Spain) |
| ellos/ellas | dijeron | they said / told |
Examples:
- Ayer te dije la verdad. (Yesterday I told you the truth.)
- ¿Qué dijo ella? (What did she say?)
- Nos dijeron que esperáramos. (They told us to wait.)
Why dijeron matters
Learners often overgeneralise and produce dijieron because they hear the spelling pattern in their head. But the correct form is dijeron. This is a classic irregular preterite pattern: the stem changes, and the endings follow the special preterite set used by verbs like traer, poner, venir, tener, and decir.
If you want to compare patterns, it helps to review related verbs like hacer and poner, because they share the same family of irregular preterite behaviour. In VerbPal, this is exactly where structured practice matters: we do not isolate one tricky form and hope it sticks. We cycle whole irregular families so you can see dije, puse, tuve, and vine as a system.
Action step: Say and write this mini-sequence five times: dije, dijiste, dijo, dijimos, dijeron. Skip dijisteis if you do not use vosotros, but do not skip dijeron.
Imperfect tense of decir
The imperfect is much easier: decir follows the regular -er/-ir imperfect pattern with a small accent change.
| Pronoun | Form | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | decía | I was saying / used to say |
| tú | decías | you were saying / used to say |
| él/ella | decía | he/she was saying / used to say |
| nosotros | decíamos | we were saying / used to say |
| vosotros | decíais | you all were saying / used to say (Spain) |
| ellos/ellas | decían | they were saying / used to say |
Examples:
- Siempre decía la verdad. (He always used to tell the truth.)
- ¿Qué te decían tus padres? (What did your parents used to tell you?)
Imperfect vs preterite with decir
This distinction matters:
- Imperfect = repeated, ongoing, background speech
Siempre decía eso. (He always used to say that.) - Preterite = completed, specific speech event
Dijo eso ayer. (He said that yesterday.)
If you mix these up, your listener may still understand you, but your meaning becomes less precise. For a deeper comparison, see our guide on Spanish preterite vs imperfect.
Pro tip: Pair one imperfect sentence with one preterite sentence about the same idea: Siempre decía eso vs Lo dijo ayer. That contrast is what makes the tense choice stick.
Future tense of decir
The future tense uses the irregular stem dir-.
| Pronoun | Form | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | diré | I will say / tell |
| tú | dirás | you will say / tell |
| él/ella | dirá | he/she will say / tell |
| nosotros | diremos | we will say / tell |
| vosotros | diréis | you all will say / tell (Spain) |
| ellos/ellas | dirán | they will say / tell |
Examples:
- Te diré la verdad mañana. (I’ll tell you the truth tomorrow.)
- ¿Qué dirán ellos? (What will they say?)
The future stem pattern
The irregular future stem dir- appears in the same family as other irregular future/conditional verbs. Once you recognise the pattern, you can predict forms more easily:
- decir → dir-
- hacer → har-
- poner → pondr-
- venir → vendr-
That’s why it helps to study these verbs together instead of memorising each one in isolation. VerbPal’s Journey module does exactly that: it gives you an end-to-end path from beginner through advanced forms, grouping and recycling related conjugation patterns so nothing gets missed.
Action step: Build a “future stem family” list with four verbs: decir, hacer, poner, and venir. Write one future sentence for each.
Conditional tense of decir
The conditional also uses the irregular stem dir-.
| Pronoun | Form | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | diría | I would say / tell |
| tú | dirías | you would say / tell |
| él/ella | diría | he/she would say / tell |
| nosotros | diríamos | we would say / tell |
| vosotros | diríais | you all would say / tell (Spain) |
| ellos/ellas | dirían | they would say / tell |
Examples:
- Yo no diría eso. (I wouldn’t say that.)
- ¿Qué dirías tú? (What would you say?)
The conditional often appears in polite speech, speculation, and reported thought, so it’s a very practical tense to master if you want to sound natural and tactful.
Pro tip: Practice the pair diré / diría together. One is future fact, the other is hypothesis or politeness.
Present subjunctive of decir
The present subjunctive uses the irregular stem dig-.
| Pronoun | Form | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | diga | that I say / tell |
| tú | digas | that you say / tell |
| él/ella | diga | that he/she say / tell |
| nosotros | digamos | that we say / tell |
| vosotros | digáis | that you all say / tell (Spain) |
| ellos/ellas | digan | that they say / tell |
Examples:
- Quiero que me digas la verdad. (I want you to tell me the truth.)
- Es importante que digan algo. (It’s important that they say something.)
When you need the subjunctive
Decir often triggers the subjunctive in clauses expressing:
- desire
- doubt
- emotion
- recommendation
- necessity
For example:
- Espero que me digas la verdad. (I hope you tell me the truth.)
- No creo que diga eso. (I don’t think he/she says that.)
If subjunctive still feels slippery, our guide to the WEIRDO subjunctive acronym is a helpful companion. In VerbPal, we also cover the full subjunctive system — not just a few common phrases — so you practice diga as part of a complete conjugation map, including irregulars and less comfortable forms.
Action step: Make one sentence with quiero que, one with es importante que, and one with no creo que, all using a form of decir.
Imperfect subjunctive of decir
The imperfect subjunctive is another highly useful irregular form. The most common set is the -era form:
| Pronoun | Form | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | dijera | that I said / told |
| tú | dijeras | that you said / told |
| él/ella | dijera | that he/she said / told |
| nosotros | dijéramos | that we said / told |
| vosotros | dijerais | that you all said / told (Spain) |
| ellos/ellas | dijeran | that they said / told |
Examples:
- Si me dijera la verdad, le creería. (If he/she told me the truth, I would believe him/her.)
- Quería que dijeran algo. (I wanted them to say something.)
You may also hear or read the alternative dijese, dijeses, dijésemos forms in more formal or literary Spanish. The -ra forms are the ones most learners should prioritise first.
Pro tip: Link the imperfect subjunctive back to the preterite: dijeron → remove -ron → dije- → build dijera. That shortcut works for many verbs.
Imperative of decir
The affirmative imperative of decir is famously short and irregular:
- tú: di
- usted: diga
- nosotros: digamos
- vosotros: decid
- ustedes: digan
| Pronoun | Form | English |
|---|---|---|
| tú | di | say! / tell! |
| usted | diga | say! / tell! (formal) |
| nosotros | digamos | let’s say / tell |
| vosotros | decid | say! / tell! (Spain) |
| ustedes | digan | say! / tell! (plural formal) |
Examples:
- Di la verdad. (Tell the truth.)
- Dime tu nombre. (Tell me your name.)
- Díganos lo que pasó. (Tell us what happened.)
Negative commands
Negative commands use the present subjunctive:
- No digas eso. (Don’t say that.)
- No diga nada. (Don’t say anything.)
- No digáis mentiras. (Don’t tell lies.)
If commands make your head spin, compare this with other short irregular imperatives like hacer and poner. You’ll start to see a family pattern rather than a random list.
For the short command forms, think: “Di, haz, pon, sal, ten, ven, ve.” Lexi’s cheat code is to learn them as a tiny pack of barking-short orders. If the command feels like a one-syllable snap, it’s probably one of these irregulars. No fluff, just action — like a dog hearing “walk!”
Action step: Practice one affirmative and one negative command back to back: Di la verdad / No digas mentiras.
You’ve just learned a lot of moving parts: digo, dije, diré, diga, dijera, di, diciendo, and dicho. Knowing the rule is one thing — producing it under pressure is another. That’s the gap our drills are built to close. In VerbPal, we surface forms like these at the right moment with spaced repetition, varied practice formats, and typed recall so you build fast retrieval, not just familiarity.
Try VerbPal free →Gerund and past participle of decir
These two forms are essential because they show up in continuous tenses and compound tenses.
Gerund: diciendo
The gerund is diciendo. Notice the e → i change again.
- Estoy diciendo la verdad. (I’m saying the truth / I’m telling the truth.)
- Siguió diciendo lo mismo. (He kept saying the same thing.)
Past participle: dicho
The past participle is dicho, which is irregular.
- He dicho la verdad. (I have told the truth.)
- Lo dicho, nos vemos mañana. (Said and done, see you tomorrow.)
The dicho / hecho / visto pattern
Many of the most common irregular past participles are short, high-frequency forms that you should learn as a family:
- dicho → from decir
- hecho → from hacer
- visto → from ver
These forms are irregular because they don’t follow the regular -ado / -ido pattern:
- hablar → hablado
- comer → comido
- vivir → vivido
But:
- decir → dicho
- hacer → hecho
- ver → visto
That’s why it helps to study them together, not separately. If you can remember one, you can often anchor the others. For the full hacer pattern, see conjugate the verb hacer. For a related irregular, see conjugate the verb poner.
Compound tenses with dicho
You’ll often see dicho with haber:
- He dicho → I have said/told
- Había dicho → I had said/told
- Habré dicho → I will have said/told
Because dicho is irregular, it’s worth drilling alongside other frequent participles until it becomes automatic. This is where our interactive charts and drills help: you can move from the standalone participle to full compound tenses instead of memorising dicho as a disconnected fact.
Pro tip: Learn diciendo and dicho as a pair. One is the ongoing form, one is the completed form.
Related verbs: contradecir and predecir
Once you know decir, two very important prefixed verbs become much easier:
- contradecir → to contradict
- predecir → to predict
These verbs follow the same core irregularity patterns as decir.
Contradecir
Contradecir keeps the decir family patterns:
- Yo contradigo → I contradict
- Tú contradices → you contradict
- Ellos contradijeron → they contradicted
- Que yo contradiga → that I contradict
- Contradicho → contradicted
Example:
- No quiero contradecirte. (I don’t want to contradict you.)
Predecir
Predecir means “to predict” and follows the same family pattern:
- Yo predigo → I predict
- Ellos predijeron → they predicted
- Que prediga → that I predict
- Predicho → predicted
Example:
- No puedo predecir el futuro. (I can’t predict the future.)
If you’re building a strong verb system, this family approach is much more efficient than memorising isolated forms. That’s the same logic behind our structured Journey module: one pattern, many verbs, repeated until it sticks, across all conjugations — including irregulars, reflexives, and the subjunctive.
Action step: Take one known form of decir and build the matching form of predecir or contradecir: digo → predigo, dijeron → contradijeron, diga → prediga.
Common mistakes with decir
1) Saying dijieron instead of dijeron
This is the most common error.
- Wrong: Ellos dijieron
- Correct: Ellos dijeron
2) Forgetting the irregular yo form in the present
- Wrong: yo deco
- Correct: yo digo
3) Mixing up decir and contar
Both can mean “tell,” but they’re not interchangeable in every context.
- Decir una mentira → to tell a lie
- Contar una historia → to tell a story
4) Using the wrong command form
- Wrong: dices as a command
- Correct: di (informal singular affirmative)
5) Forgetting the stem change in the gerund
- Wrong: deciendo
- Correct: diciendo
These mistakes are normal. The fix is not more passive reading — it’s repeated production with feedback. That’s why we built VerbPal around active recall and spaced repetition, so you get the form right before the moment of pressure.
Pro tip: Turn each mistake into a correction card: wrong form on one side, correct form in a full sentence on the other.
How to remember decir forms fast
Here’s the shortest route to remembering the whole verb:
1) Anchor the core pattern
Memorise these first:
- digo
- dije
- diré
- diga
- dijera
- di
- diciendo
- dicho
If these are solid, the rest of the table becomes much easier to reconstruct.
2) Group the related patterns
Think in families:
- Present / subjunctive / gerund: digo, diga, diciendo
- Preterite / imperfect subjunctive: dije, dijera
- Future / conditional: diré, diría
- Command / participle: di, dicho
3) Use sentence frames, not isolated words
Practice whole phrases:
- Te digo que sí. (I’m telling you yes.)
- Me dijeron la verdad. (They told me the truth.)
- ¿Qué dirías tú? (What would you say?)
- No digas nada. (Don’t say anything.)
- Lo dicho. (Said and done / as stated.)
This is where spaced repetition shines. The goal is not just to “know” decir — it’s to retrieve it instantly when you need it. If you want a deeper method, our guide on how to use spaced repetition for verb conjugations explains the learning logic behind that approach. In VerbPal, that review schedule is built in with the SM-2 algorithm, so your hardest decir forms come back before you forget them.
Action step: Pick the eight anchor forms and use each one in a short sentence out loud. If you hesitate, that is the form to review first.
Full summary of decir forms
Here’s a compact reference you can revisit whenever you need a quick refresh.
Present
- yo digo
- tú dices
- él/ella dice
- nosotros decimos
- vosotros decís
- ellos/ellas dicen
Preterite
- yo dije
- tú dijiste
- él/ella dijo
- nosotros dijimos
- vosotros dijisteis
- ellos/ellas dijeron
Imperfect
- yo decía
- tú decías
- él/ella decía
- nosotros decíamos
- vosotros decíais
- ellos/ellas decían
Future
- yo diré
- tú dirás
- él/ella dirá
- nosotros diremos
- vosotros diréis
- ellos/ellas dirán
Conditional
- yo diría
- tú dirías
- él/ella diría
- nosotros diríamos
- vosotros diríais
- ellos/ellas dirían
Present subjunctive
- yo diga
- tú digas
- él/ella diga
- nosotros digamos
- vosotros digáis
- ellos/ellas digan
Imperfect subjunctive
- yo dijera
- tú dijeras
- él/ella dijera
- nosotros dijéramos
- vosotros dijerais
- ellos/ellas dijeran
Imperative
- tú di
- usted diga
- nosotros digamos
- vosotros decid
- ustedes digan
Gerund and participle
- diciendo
- dicho
Pro tip: Use this section as a recall test, not a reading list. Cover the right side and try to produce each form before looking.
Mini quiz: can you choose the right form?
Choose the correct form: “Yesterday they ___ the truth.”
FAQ
Is decir irregular in every tense?
No. Decir is irregular in many major tenses, but not all. Its imperfect is regular, while its present, preterite, future, conditional, subjunctive, imperative, gerund, and participle have irregular patterns.
What is the difference between decir and contar?
Decir means to say or tell. Contar can mean to count or to tell a story. For example, decir la verdad means to tell the truth, while contar una historia means to tell a story.
Why is it dijeron and not dijieron?
Because decir has an irregular preterite stem, and the third-person plural form is dijeron. The vowel stays e in the stem family, not ie.
What is the past participle of decir?
The past participle is dicho. It’s irregular and used in compound tenses like he dicho and había dicho.
Is di the only command form of decir?
No. Di is the affirmative tú command. Other imperative forms include diga, digamos, decid, and digan.
Final takeaway
If you only remember one thing, make it this: decir is a high-frequency verb with a few core irregular patterns that repeat across its forms. Once you lock in digo, dije, diré, diga, dijera, di, diciendo, and dicho, you’ve covered the forms you’ll actually use most often in real Spanish.
And if you want those forms to come out instantly instead of slowly and nervously, that’s exactly what we designed VerbPal to help with: active production, spaced repetition, interactive practice, and a structured path that covers all conjugations from beginner basics to advanced subjunctive. Start with the 7-day free trial at verbpal.com, or download VerbPal on iOS or Android.