alegar
Spanish, verb/aleˈɡaɾ/
alegar is spelled A-L-E-G-A-R (6 letters) and appears 2.5 times per million words in written Spanish, the 19,645th most frequent Spanish word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Alegar is a Spanish verb meaning “to cite as a defence or justification for one's actions” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The Spanish Wiktionary (Wikcionario) defines it as “Expresar o citar argumentos a favor o en contra de algo o alguien”.
What does alegar mean in English?
verb
- 1
to cite as a defence or justification for one's actions
alegando que
- 2
to claim, to allege
- 3
to complain
- 4
to speak in defence of the accused in a criminal proceeding; to defend
- 5
to converse, talk
Source: English Wiktionary, Spanish section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How Spanish dictionaries define it
verb: 1. Expresar o citar argumentos a favor o en contra de algo o alguien. 2. Expresar razones o ideas que contradicen la opinión de otra persona. 3. Argumentar y presentar pruebas en defensa de un acusado. 4. Quejarse con alguien.
The definition in the Spanish Wiktionary (Wikcionario), in Spanish.
Source: Spanish Wiktionary (Wikcionario), dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of alegar
- alego first-person present singular
- alegué first-person preterite singular
- alegado participle past
- g-gu alternation
- alegando gerund
- alegada feminine participle past
- alegados masculine participle past
- alegadas feminine participle past
- alegas indicative informal present
- alegás indicative informal present
- alega indicative present singular
- alegamos first-person indicative plural
- alegáis indicative plural present
- alegan indicative plural present
- alegaba first-person imperfect indicative
- alegabas imperfect indicative second-person
- alegábamos first-person imperfect indicative
- alegabais imperfect indicative plural
Source: English Wiktionary and Spanish Wiktionary (Wikcionario) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce alegar?
- /aleˈɡaɾ/
- [a.leˈɣ̞aɾ]
- [aleˈɣ̞aɾ]
Sources: English Wiktionary, Spanish Wiktionary (Wikcionario) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to alegar
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is alegar in Spanish?
alegar appears 2.5 times per million words in written Spanish.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).