Decir Conjugation: The Complete Guide to “To Say” and “To Tell” in Spanish

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DECIR (to say, to tell) is the verb you reach for every time you report a conversation, share information, or pass along a message. It’s irregular in the present, irregular in the preterite, and central to reported speech — the grammatical backbone of storytelling and everyday communication in Spanish.

This guide covers everything you need: the full conjugation in the present, preterite, and imperfect tenses; how decir works with indirect object pronouns; how it behaves in reported speech; and the mistakes to avoid. By the end, you’ll know not just how to conjugate decir, but when to use it — and when another verb fits better.

Key Takeaways

• DECIR means “to say” and “to tell.” Spanish uses one verb where English uses two.
• It’s irregular in the present (digo, dices, dice, decimos, decís, dicen) — note the -go yo form and the e → i stem change.
• It’s irregular in the preterite (dije, dijiste, dijo, dijimos, dijisteis, dijeron) — strong stem dij- and no accent marks.
• The imperfect is regular: decía, decías, decía, decíamos, decíais, decían.
• Decir usually takes an indirect object pronoun: me dice, te digo, le decimos.
• It’s the backbone of reported speech: Dice que viene, Dijo que vendría.
• Common idioms: es decir (that is to say), querer decir (to mean), decir la verdad (to tell the truth).

Conjugation of DECIR in the Present Tense

Decir is irregular in the present tense. The yo form is digo — the same -go ending you see in tener (tengo), hacer (hago), poner (pongo), and salir (salgo). All forms except nosotros and vosotros change the stem vowel from e to i.

Pronoun	Conjugation	English
Yo	digo	I say / I tell
Tú	dices	You say / You tell (informal)
Él / Ella / Usted	dice	He / She says, You say (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras	decimos	We say / We tell
Vosotros / Vosotras	decís	You all say / You all tell (Spain, informal)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes	dicen	They say, You all say (formal)

Example Sentences

• Yo digo la verdad siempre. (I always tell the truth.)
• ¿Tú dices mentiras a veces? (Do you tell lies sometimes?)
• Ella dice hola cada vez que entra. (She says hello every time she comes in.)
• Nosotros decimos adiós al final de la clase. (We say goodbye at the end of class.)

A Note on Vosotros

Vosotros and vosotras are used primarily in Spain. In Latin America, ustedes covers both formal and informal plural address, and vosotros is essentially absent from everyday speech. If you’re learning Spanish for Latin America, you’ll recognize decís in writing but won’t need to produce it. If you’re studying for a Spain-based exam or spending time in Spain, learn it alongside the other forms.

Conjugation of DECIR in the Preterite

The preterite of decir is irregular. The stem is dij- in every form — a strong, irregular stem shared with traer (traje) and verbs ending in -ducir (conduje, traduje). Note the absence of accent marks: the strong preterite pattern never carries them.

Pronoun	Conjugation	English
Yo	dije	I said / I told
Tú	dijiste	You said / You told (informal)
Él / Ella / Usted	dijo	He / She said, You said (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras	dijimos	We said / We told
Vosotros / Vosotras	dijisteis	You all said / You all told (Spain, informal)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes	dijeron	They said, You all said (formal)

Example Sentences

• Dije la verdad, aunque fue difícil. (I told the truth, even though it was hard.)
• ¿Tú dijiste que vendrías? (Did you say you would come?)
• Él dijo hola y se fue. (He said hello and left.)
• Dijeron que llegarían tarde. (They said they would arrive late.)

Conjugation of DECIR in the Imperfect

The imperfect of decir is fully regular: stem dec- plus the standard -ir imperfect endings. Note the accent marks on decía, decías, and decíamos.

Pronoun	Conjugation	English
Yo	decía	I said / I used to say
Tú	decías	You said / You used to say (informal)
Él / Ella / Usted	decía	He / She said, You said (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras	decíamos	We said / We used to say
Vosotros / Vosotras	decíais	You all said / You all used to say (Spain, informal)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes	decían	They said / You all said (formal)

Example Sentences

• Decía siempre la verdad cuando era niño. (I always told the truth when I was a child.)
• Mi abuela decía cuentos todas las noches. (My grandmother used to tell stories every night.)
• Decíamos buenos días al entrar. (We used to say good morning when we came in.)
• Ellos decían mentiras con frecuencia. (They used to tell lies often.)

Preterite vs Imperfect with DECIR

Use the preterite for a completed statement: Dije la verdad (I told the truth — once, finished). Use the imperfect for a habitual or ongoing past statement: Decía la verdad siempre (I always told the truth — habitually). In reported speech, the choice matters: Dijo que vendría (He said he would come — single statement) vs Decía que vendría (He kept saying he would come — repeated or ongoing).

How DECIR Works with Indirect Object Pronouns

Decir almost always answers to whom something is said, so it frequently takes an indirect object pronoun. The pattern is IO pronoun + decir + [thing said].

Pronoun	Form	English
me	me dice	He tells me
te	te digo	I tell you (informal)
le	le decimos	We tell him / her / you (formal)
nos	nos dicen	They tell us
os	os digo	I tell you all (Spain, informal)
les	les digo	I tell them / you all

Examples:

• Me dice la verdad. (He tells me the truth.)
• Te digo una cosa. (I’ll tell you one thing.)
• Le decimos adiós al profesor. (We say goodbye to the teacher.)
• Nos dicen que llegan mañana. (They tell us they arrive tomorrow.)

Note on le → se: When le or les comes before lo, la, los, or las, it changes to se: Se lo dije (I told him so), Se lo digo (I tell it to him). This is a sound rule, not a meaning change.

Reported Speech with DECIR

Decir is the verb that introduces reported speech — telling someone what someone else said. The tense of the reported verb often shifts back one step.

Direct speech	Reported speech
Viene. (He’s coming.)	Dice que viene. (He says he’s coming.)
Vendrá. (He’ll come.)	Dijo que vendría. (He said he’d come.)
Tiene hambre. (He’s hungry.)	Me dijo que tenía hambre. (He told me he was hungry.)

The shift rule: When the reporting verb is in the present (dice), the reported verb stays in its original tense. When the reporting verb is in the past (dijo), the reported verb shifts back: present → imperfect, future → conditional, preterite → pluperfect.

The Imperative of DECIR

The imperative of decir is irregular and worth learning early because it’s used constantly.

Form	Conjugation	Use
Tú	di	Say! / Tell!
Usted	diga	Say! / Tell! (formal)
Nosotros	digamos	Let’s say
Vosotros	decid	Say! (Spain)
Ustedes	digan	Say! (formal plural)

Examples:

• Dime la verdad. (Tell me the truth.)
• Diga usted lo que piensa. (Say what you think.)
• Digamos que sí. (Let’s say yes.)

Common Idioms and Phrases with DECIR

• decir la verdad — to tell the truth
• decir mentiras — to tell lies
• decir que sí / decir que no — to say yes / to say no
• es decir — that is to say
• querer decir — to mean (¿Qué quieres decir? = What do you mean?)
• decir por decir — to say something just for the sake of saying it
• como quien dice — so to speak, as it were
• ni que decir tiene — it goes without saying

Common Mistakes

• Using decir when you mean contar. Decir is for statements and information: Dijo la verdad (He told the truth). Contar is for telling stories or narrating: Contó un cuento (He told a story). They overlap in reported speech, but not everywhere.
• Forgetting the -go yo form. It’s digo, not dico or dizo.
• Forgetting the e → i stem change. Dices, dice, dicen — not deces, dece, decen.
• Using decir reflexively for “to mean.” “What does it mean?” is ¿Qué quiere decir? — not ¿Qué se dice?
• Mixing up dijo and decía in reported speech. Dijo frames a single statement. Decía frames repeated statements or background.
• Forgetting the le → se shift. Le lo dije is wrong. It’s Se lo dije.

Putting It All Together

Imagine reporting a conversation. Ayer mi hermano me dijo que vendría a visitarnos. Le dije que sí, que le esperábamos. Mi madre siempre decía que hay que decir la verdad, así que le dije exactamente lo que había pasado. Cuando mi hermano llegó, me dijo: «Dime todo, sin mentiras.» Es decir, la conversación entera se construyó con decir. Six different forms of decir, one short paragraph, all natural Spanish. That’s how central this verb is.

Quick Reference Chart

Tense	Yo	Tú	Él / Ella / Ud.	Nosotros	Vosotros	Ellos / Uds.
Present	digo	dices	dice	decimos	decís	dicen
Preterite	dije	dijiste	dijo	dijimos	dijisteis	dijeron
Imperfect	decía	decías	decía	decíamos	decíais	decían

Practice Exercise

Fill in the blank with the correct form of decir.

1. Yo siempre ____ la verdad. (answer: digo)
2. Ella me ____ que vendría. (answer: dijo)
3. ¿Qué ____ él? (answer: dice)
4. Nosotros ____ hola cada mañana. (answer: decimos)
5. Cuando éramos niños, ____ cuentos todas las noches. (answer: decíamos)

Ready to Master Decir Completely?

You’ve got the conjugation, the indirect object pronouns, the reported speech, and the idioms. The next step is putting them to work — under pressure, with feedback, at a pace that builds from simple to advanced.

Take the Decir Conjugation Quiz to test yourself across all four levels: Basic, Intermediate, Advanced, and Practice. Each set builds on the last.

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