tener
Spanish, verb/teˈneɾ/
tener is spelled T-E-N-E-R (5 letters) and appears 646 times per million words in written Spanish, the 120th most frequent Spanish word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Tener is a Spanish verb meaning “to have; to possess” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The Spanish Wiktionary (Wikcionario) defines it as “Poseer, ser dueño de algo”.
What does tener mean in English?
verb
- 1
to have; to possess
Ella tiene seis hermanos.
- 2
to have; to possess; to be (a condition or quality)
Usted tiene suerte.
- 3
to hold; to grasp
Ten esto.
- 4
to contain; to hold (e.g. to "hold the power to", "hold the key", "hold a clue", "hold the truth", "have a hold on", "hold in store", "hold all the cards", "hold in high regard", etc.)
Este tarro tiene las cenizas.
- 5
to have; to feel (internally)
Él le tiene mucho cariño a ella.
- 6
to make to feel
Eso nos tiene tristes.
- 7
to have (a measure or age)
Tiene tres metros de ancho.
- 8
to have to
Tengo que salir ahora.
Source: English Wiktionary, Spanish section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How Spanish dictionaries define it
verb: 1. Poseer, ser dueño de algo. 2. Sostener. 3. Úsase para expresar una sensación. 4. Úsase para medir la cantidad de tiempo de existencia de algo o alguien.
verb: 1. (tener que) Junto con la conjunción que indica la necesidad u obligación de hacer algo.
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 tener
- tengo first-person present singular
- tuve first-person preterite singular
- tenido participle past
- e-ie alternation
- teniendo gerund
- tenida feminine participle past
- tenidos masculine participle past
- tenidas feminine participle past
- tienes indicative informal present
- tenés indicative informal present
- tiene indicative present singular
- tenemos first-person indicative plural
- tenéis indicative plural present
- tienen indicative plural present
- tenía first-person imperfect indicative
- tenías imperfect indicative second-person
- teníamos first-person imperfect indicative
- teníais imperfect indicative plural
Source: English Wiktionary and Spanish Wiktionary (Wikcionario) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce tener?
- /teˈneɾ/
- [t̪eˈneɾ]
Sources: English Wiktionary, Spanish Wiktionary (Wikcionario) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to tener
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is tener in Spanish?
tener appears 646 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).