Palabra Lexi · common words in Spanish

How to say "to ask" in Spanish

"To ask" in Spanish is preguntar, pronounced preh-goon-TAHR (stress on the syllable in capitals). In short: to ask a question.

Pronunciation is spelled out in English, one syllable at a time, with the stressed syllable in capitals. The speaker button uses your browser's built-in Spanish voice.

How to pronounce preguntar

Preguntar is pronounced preh-goon-TAHR, in IPA /pɾeɡunˈtaɾ/. Preguntar has three syllables, preh-goon-TAHR, with the stress on the third. There is no written accent because the word follows the basic rule: words ending in a consonant other than -n or -s are stressed on the last syllable.

Listen: normal and slow speed, in your browser's Spanish voice. IPA: Wiktionary, CC BY-SA.

Example sentences

Quiero preguntar algo
I want to ask something

Ella va a preguntar la dirección.
She is going to ask for directions.

Voy a preguntar al profesor.
I'm going to ask the teacher.

How to remember preguntar

preguntar [preh-goon-TAHR] sounds like the English “penguin-tar”. Picture this:

The penguin asks about the tar: raises a flipper and waits politely.

A sound-alike plus a vivid scene is the keyword method, a well-studied way to learn vocabulary. How it works.

Practice preguntar

Two quick games, right here: no sign-up, nothing is sent anywhere.

preguntar: present and past forms

Verb forms: Wiktionary via UniMorph, CC BY-SA 3.0.

preguntar or pedir: which one?

Not to be confused with a similar word. In short:

• preguntar (to ask): to ask a question.
• pedir (to ask for): to ask for something, to request or order (pedir un café, "to order a coffee").