cambiar
Spanish, verb/kamˈbjaɾ/
cambiar is spelled C-A-M-B-I-A-R (7 letters) and appears 129 times per million words in written Spanish, the 672nd most frequent Spanish word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Cambiar is a Spanish verb meaning “to change, to shift, to switch, to alter” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The Spanish Wiktionary (Wikcionario) defines it as “Sustituir una cosa por otra. Dejar un estado, cosa o situación para tomar otra”.
What does cambiar mean in English?
verb
- 1
to change, to shift, to switch, to alter
La marea ha cambiado.
- 2
to modify
- 3
to switch, to switch up, to change, to trade, to swap (usually + de) (when implying changing from one thing to another)
Estoy dispuesto a cambiar de lugar contigo.
- 4
to replace, to change out, to swap out
Necesitarás cambiar las pastillas de freno, señor. Están rotas.
- 5
to exchange, to trade in
Cambio mi cheque en el banco.
- 6
to turn around
Mi primo ahora tiene una segunda oportunidad a cambiar su vida.
- 7
to swap, to trade, to switch
¿Podríamos cambiarnos los asientos?
- 8
to move (i.e., change from one place to another)
Ella se cambió del sótano al primer piso.
Source: English Wiktionary, Spanish section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How Spanish dictionaries define it
verb: 1. Sustituir una cosa por otra. Dejar un estado, cosa o situación para tomar otra. 2. Modificar o alterar el estado, ser o apariencia de algo o de alguien. 3. Entregar y/o recibir algo por otra cosa que se estima de un valor comparable o análogo. 4. Dirigir, entre dos o más seres, gestos, ideas, información, afecto, etc. de modo recíproco o mutuo.
verb: 1. Mudar, alterar o modificar alguien su apariencia física o su condición moral. 2. Cambiar₃ moneda en una divisa₁ por otra.
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 cambiar
- cambio first-person present singular
- cambié first-person preterite singular
- cambiado participle past
- cambiando gerund
- cambiada feminine participle past
- cambiados masculine participle past
- cambiadas feminine participle past
- cambias indicative informal present
- cambiás indicative informal present
- cambia indicative present singular
- cambiamos first-person indicative plural
- cambiáis indicative plural present
- cambian indicative plural present
- cambiaba first-person imperfect indicative
- cambiabas imperfect indicative second-person
- cambiábamos first-person imperfect indicative
- cambiabais imperfect indicative plural
- cambiaban imperfect indicative plural
Source: English Wiktionary and Spanish Wiktionary (Wikcionario) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce cambiar?
- /kamˈbjaɾ/
- [kãmˈbjaɾ]
- [kãmbiˈaɾ]
Sources: English Wiktionary, Spanish Wiktionary (Wikcionario) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to cambiar
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is cambiar in Spanish?
cambiar appears 129 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).