Querer Conjugation: The Complete Guide to “To Want” and “To Love” in Spanish

Spanish Irregular Verbs Hub | Querer Quiz

QUERER (to want, to love) is one of the most common verbs in Spanish. It covers desires, preferences, polite requests, and affection — and it carries a meaning shift in the preterite that changes what you’re saying. It’s irregular in the present, irregular in the preterite, and it appears in idioms you’ll use every day.

This guide covers everything you need: the full conjugation in the present, preterite, and imperfect tenses; the main uses of the verb; the affection meaning that English splits into two words; and the mistakes to avoid. By the end, you’ll know not just how to conjugate querer, but when to reach for it.

Key Takeaways

• QUERER means “to want” and “to love.” Spanish uses one verb where English uses two.
• It’s irregular in the present (quiero, quieres, quiere, queremos, queréis, quieren) — stem change e → ie in stressed forms.
• It’s irregular in the preterite (quise, quisiste, quiso, quisimos, quisisteis, quisieron) — strong stem quis- and no accent marks.
• The imperfect is regular: quería, querías, quería, queríamos, queríais, querían.
• Quise vs quería is a meaning shift: quise = I tried, quería = I wanted.
• The polite form quisiera (I would like) is a fixed expression worth learning as a chunk.
• Common idioms: querer decir (to mean), sin querer (unintentionally), como quieras (as you wish).

Conjugation of QUERER in the Present Tense

Querer is irregular in the present tense. The stem vowel shifts e → ie in all stressed forms. The nosotros and vosotros forms keep the original e.

Pronoun	Conjugation	English
Yo	quiero	I want / I love
Tú	quieres	You want (informal)
Él / Ella / Usted	quiere	He / She wants, You want (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras	queremos	We want
Vosotros / Vosotras	queréis	You all want (Spain, informal)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes	quieren	They want, You all want (formal)

Example Sentences

• Yo quiero un café, por favor. (I want a coffee, please.)
• ¿Tú quieres viajar este verano? (Do you want to travel this summer?)
• Ella quiere estudiar medicina. (She wants to study medicine.)
• Nosotros queremos ayudar. (We want to help.)

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 queréis 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 QUERER in the Preterite

The preterite of querer is irregular. The stem is quis- in every form. No accent marks — the strong preterite pattern never carries them. And the meaning shifts: quise means “I tried,” not “I wanted.”

Pronoun	Conjugation	English
Yo	quise	I tried
Tú	quisiste	You tried (informal)
Él / Ella / Usted	quiso	He / She tried, You tried (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras	quisimos	We tried
Vosotros / Vosotras	quisisteis	You all tried (Spain, informal)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes	quisieron	They tried

Example Sentences

• Quise comprar el coche, pero era demasiado caro. (I tried to buy the car, but it was too expensive.)
• ¿Quisiste ayudarla? (Did you try to help her?)
• Él quiso abrir la puerta, pero estaba cerrada. (He tried to open the door, but it was locked.)
• Quisimos visitarlos, pero no teníamos tiempo. (We tried to visit them, but we didn’t have time.)

Conjugation of QUERER in the Imperfect

The imperfect of querer is fully regular: stem quer- plus the standard -er imperfect endings. Note the accent marks on quería, querías, and queríamos.

Pronoun	Conjugation	English
Yo	quería	I wanted / I used to want
Tú	querías	You wanted (informal)
Él / Ella / Usted	quería	He / She wanted, You wanted (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras	queríamos	We wanted
Vosotros / Vosotras	queríais	You all wanted (Spain, informal)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes	querían	They wanted

Example Sentences

• Quería ser médico cuando era niño. (I wanted to be a doctor when I was a child.)
• ¿Qué querías de postre? (What did you want for dessert?)
• Mi hermana quería un perro. (My sister wanted a dog.)
• Queríamos viajar a Japón. (We wanted to travel to Japan.)

Preterite vs Imperfect with QUERER — The Meaning Shift

This is one of the most important meaning shifts in Spanish, and it happens with querer more than almost any other verb.

• Quise = I tried (and it didn’t happen, or it’s framed as an attempt). Quise llamarte = I tried to call you.
• Quería = I wanted (the state of desire). Quería llamarte = I wanted to call you.
• No quise = I refused / I deliberately didn’t want to. No quise ir = I refused to go.
• No quería = I didn’t want to (a state). No quería ir = I didn’t want to go.

The preterite quise is the moment of attempt or refusal. The imperfect quería is the ongoing state of wanting. This is the same logic as supe/sabía and conocí/conocía — preterite marks the moment, imperfect marks the state.

The Main Uses of QUERER

1. Direct Wants and Preferences

The most common use: expressing what you want.

• Quiero agua. (I want water.)
• Queremos ir al cine. (We want to go to the movies.)
• ¿Qué quieres hacer hoy? (What do you want to do today?)

2. Requests and Polite Forms

Quiero can be direct — sometimes too direct. For polite requests, Spanish uses quisiera (I would like).

• Quiero un café. (I want a coffee. — direct)
• Quisiera un café, por favor. (I would like a coffee, please. — polite)
• ¿Querrías ayudarme? (Would you help me? — very polite, conditional)

Note on quisiera: Quisiera is technically the imperfect subjunctive of querer. It functions as a fixed polite expression — the equivalent of “I would like.” Learn it as a chunk. The same applies to querría, the conditional form.

3. Affection — “To Love”

Querer also means “to love,” but not in every sense. Spanish uses querer for the love you feel toward family, friends, and romantic partners. It’s warmer and more everyday than amar, which is more formal and literary.

• Te quiero. (I love you. — romantic, family, or close friends)
• Quiero a mi familia. (I love my family.)
• Los quiero mucho. (I love you all very much.)

Note on querer vs amar: Querer is the everyday “I love you” — the one you say to your partner, your parents, your close friends. Amar is stronger, more formal, and more literary. Te amo is intense and often reserved for deeply romantic moments or poetry. Te quiero is the standard.

4. Querer + Infinitive

The most common construction: querer + infinitive means “to want to” do something.

• Quiero viajar a España. (I want to travel to Spain.)
• ¿Quieres comer algo? (Do you want to eat something?)
• Queremos aprender más. (We want to learn more.)

5. Attempted Actions — The Preterite Use

In the preterite, querer means “to try” — the moment of attempt. Often with the implication that it didn’t succeed.

• Quise llamarte, pero no tenía señal. (I tried to call you, but I had no signal.)
• Quiso abrir la puerta, pero estaba cerrada. (He tried to open the door, but it was locked.)
• No quiso venir. (He refused to come.)

6. Common Idioms with QUERER

• querer decir — to mean
  • ¿Qué quiere decir esta palabra? (What does this word mean?)
• sin querer — unintentionally, without meaning to
  • Lo hice sin querer. (I did it without meaning to.)
• como quieras — as you wish, whatever you want
  • Como quieras, no me importa. (As you wish, I don’t mind.)
• cuando quieras — whenever you want
  • Podemos salir cuando quieras. (We can go out whenever you want.)
• lo que quieras — whatever you want
  • Pide lo que quieras. (Order whatever you want.)

Common Mistakes

• Forgetting the e → ie stem change. It’s quiero, not quero. Same change in quieres, quiere, quieren. Only queremos and queréis keep the original e.
• Confusing quise and quería. Quise = I tried. Quería = I wanted. This is the biggest source of error with this verb.
• Using querer for “to love” in every context. Querer is the everyday “I love you.” Amar is stronger and more formal. Both are correct — but te quiero is the standard one.
• Dropping the personal a with querer + person. Quiero a mi familia — the personal a is required when the direct object is a person. Quiero mi familia is wrong.
• Using quiero for polite requests. Quiero un café is direct. For politeness, use quisiera or ¿Me trae un café, por favor?
• Adding accents to the preterite. Quise, quiso, quisimos — no accents. The imperfect has them: quería, querías, queríamos.

Putting It All Together

Imagine describing a childhood dream. Cuando era niño, quería ser astronauta. Quería viajar al espacio y ver la Tierra desde arriba. Mis padres me decían que querían apoyarme en todo. Un día quise apuntarme a un campamento de ciencias, pero no había plazas. Quise hablar con el organizador, pero no lo encontré. Aun así, nunca dejé de querer ese sueño. Ahora quiero ser ingeniero, pero todavía quiero mirar las estrellas y recordar lo que quería ser. Every underlined form is querer — desire, attempt, affection, and the preterite/imperfect contrast — all woven together.

Quick Reference Chart

Tense	Yo	Tú	Él / Ella / Ud.	Nosotros	Vosotros	Ellos / Uds.
Present	quiero	quieres	quiere	queremos	queréis	quieren
Preterite	quise	quisiste	quiso	quisimos	quisisteis	quisieron
Imperfect	quería	querías	quería	queríamos	queríais	querían

Practice Exercise

Fill in the blank with the correct form of querer.

1. Yo ____ visitar España. (answer: quiero)
2. ¿Qué ____ tú comer? (answer: quieres)
3. Ayer ____ ayudarlos, pero no pude. (answer: quise)
4. Cuando era niño, ____ ser médico. (answer: quería)
5. Ella ____ a sus hijos mucho. (answer: quiere)

Ready to Master Querer Completely?

You’ve got the conjugation, the uses, the affection meaning, and the meaning shift. The next step is putting them to work — under pressure, with feedback, at a pace that builds from simple to advanced.

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

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Part of the Irregular Verb Series.