esperar
Spanish, verb/espeˈɾaɾ/
esperar is spelled E-S-P-E-R-A-R (7 letters) and appears 107 times per million words in written Spanish, the 823rd most frequent Spanish word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Esperar is a Spanish verb meaning “to hope” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The Spanish Wiktionary (Wikcionario) defines it as “Detener el movimiento o la acción hasta la llegada u ocurrencia de algo, hacer tiempo”.
What does esperar mean in English?
verb
- 1
to hope
esperar con interés
- 2
to expect
Ellos esperan encontrar muchas dificultades.
- 3
to wait, wait (for)
Por favor espera aquí.
- 4
Latin-Americacolloquialto wait, to hold on (reflexive for emphatic use)
¡Espera! ¡Espérate tantito!
- 5
to be expected
Se espera que el huracán llegue mañana.
Source: English Wiktionary, Spanish section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How Spanish dictionaries define it
verb: 1. Detener el movimiento o la acción hasta la llegada u ocurrencia de algo, hacer tiempo. 2. Tener esperanza de conseguir alguna cosa que se desea. 3. Dícese también de las cosas que no se desean, y se teme que han de suceder. 4. Cifrar la confianza en alguno o en alguna cosa.
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 esperar
- espero first-person present singular
- esperé first-person preterite singular
- esperado participle past
- esperando gerund
- esperada feminine participle past
- esperados masculine participle past
- esperadas feminine participle past
- esperas indicative informal present
- esperás indicative informal present
- espera indicative present singular
- esperamos first-person indicative plural
- esperáis indicative plural present
- esperan indicative plural present
- esperaba first-person imperfect indicative
- esperabas imperfect indicative second-person
- esperábamos first-person imperfect indicative
- esperabais imperfect indicative plural
- esperaban imperfect indicative plural
Source: English Wiktionary and Spanish Wiktionary (Wikcionario) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce esperar?
- /espeˈɾaɾ/
- [es.peˈɾaɾ]
- [espeˈɾaɾ]
Sources: English Wiktionary, Spanish Wiktionary (Wikcionario) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to esperar
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is esperar in Spanish?
esperar appears 107 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).