Arriesgarse Examples, Sentences and Quiz
Arriesgarse means “to take a risk”, and it is one of the verbs you will use every day in Spanish. Arriesgarse means to take a risk, and it is used for risking money, time, your health or your reputation on something uncertain. It is always used with a plus an infinitive, as in arriesgarse a perder, and it is a spelling-change verb, so the subjunctive needs care. This page shows arriesgarse in real sentences, in short dialogues, and in the mistakes learners make most often, and it finishes with a ten-question quiz so you can test yourself. Every sentence below comes with its English translation, and every form is the correct present-tense form unless the sentence is clearly marked as past or future. For a first taste: “Yo me arriesgo a perder el dinero.” — I take a risk to lose the money.
Arriesgarse in real example sentences
The twelve sentences below are grouped by how arriesgarse is used. Read each one out loud, then read the translation. If a sentence feels useful, copy it into your own notebook with one small change — a different time, a different person, a different place — and you have a new sentence of your own.
In the present: everyday use
These sentences use arriesgarse in the present tense, which is how you will meet it most often: routines, facts, and things happening now.
“Me arriesgo a perder el dinero.” — I take a risk to lose the money.
“¿Tú te arriesgas a viajar sin seguro?” — Do you take a risk to travel without insurance?
“Se arriesga a hablar sin preparar nada.” — He/she takes a risk to speak without preparing anything.
“Nos arriesgamos a llegar tarde a la reunión.” — We take a risk to arrive late for the meeting.
Talking about the past
The present is not the only tense you need. These sentences show arriesgarse in the past, so you can talk about what already happened.
“Ayer, yo me arriesgué a perder el dinero.” — Yesterday, I took a risk to lose the money. (preterite)
“Él se arriesgaba a viajar sin seguro todos los días.” — He used to take a risk to travel without insurance every day. (imperfect)
Plans and things already done
These sentences look forward, or look back at something already finished. Notice how the verb form changes while the meaning of arriesgarse stays the same.
“Nosotros nos arriesgaremos a hablar sin preparar nada mañana.” — We will take a risk to speak without preparing anything tomorrow. (future)
“¿Te has arriesgado a llegar tarde a la reunión?” — Have you taken a risk to arrive late for the meeting? (present perfect)
More everyday uses
Four more present-tense sentences, covering the remaining persons, so you can see the whole table in action.
“Os arriesgáis a perder el dinero.” — You take a risk to lose the money.
“Se arriesgan a viajar sin seguro.” — They take a risk to travel without insurance.
“Me arriesgo a hablar sin preparar nada.” — I take a risk to speak without preparing anything.
“Se arriesga a llegar tarde a la reunión.” — He/she takes a risk to arrive late for the meeting.
Arriesgarse in context
Single sentences teach you the forms. Dialogues teach you when to use them. Read the short conversation below, then the paragraph that follows, and notice how arriesgarse appears naturally, without anyone stopping to think about conjugation.
A short dialogue
Lucía: “¿Tú te arriesgas a perder el dinero?” — Do you take a risk to lose the money?
Carlos: “Sí, yo me arriesgo a perder el dinero.” — Yes, I take a risk to lose the money.
Lucía: “Nosotros nos arriesgamos a viajar sin seguro.” — We take a risk to travel without insurance.
Carlos: “Y ellos se arriesgan a hablar sin preparar nada.” — And they take a risk to speak without preparing anything.
Lucía: “Vosotros os arriesgáis a llegar tarde a la reunión.” — You take a risk to arrive late for the meeting.
Carlos: “Sí, y él se arriesga a viajar sin seguro.” — Yes, and he takes a risk to travel without insurance.
A short paragraph
Lucía se arriesga a perder el dinero, y Carlos se arriesga a viajar sin seguro. Nosotros nos arriesgamos a hablar sin preparar nada, y ellos se arriesgan a llegar tarde a la reunión. Yo me arriesgo a hablar sin preparar nada, y mi padre se arriesga a llegar tarde a la reunión. Arriesgarse is part of everyday life, because to take a risk is something Spanish speakers do again and again, in every tense and every situation.
Common mistakes with arriesgarse
These are the errors learners actually make with arriesgarse. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why the correction matters.
Wrong: “Yo arriesgo a perder el dinero.” Right: “Yo me arriesgo a perder el dinero.” Why: Arriesgarse is reflexive, so the pronoun me is required: without it the verb means something else, or nothing at all.
Wrong: “Ayer yo arriesgé a viajar sin seguro.” Right: “Ayer yo arriesgué a viajar sin seguro.” Why: Arriesgarse has an irregular preterite: the correct first-person form is arriesgué, not the regular arriesgé. Learn the preterite forms in the table as a set.
Wrong: “Treating arriesgarse and atreverse as identical in every context.” Right: “Arriesgarse means to take a risk, while atreverse means to dare.” Why: They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: arriesgarse fits sentences such as Me arriesgo a perder el dinero, while atreverse belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
Wrong: “Yo soy arriesgado a viajar sin seguro.” Right: “Yo he arriesgado a viajar sin seguro.” Why: Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he arriesgado, has arriesgado, ha arriesgado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
Wrong: “De niño, yo arriesgué a hablar sin preparar nada todos los días.” Right: “De niño, yo arriesgaba a hablar sin preparar nada todos los días.” Why: For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (arriesgaba), not the preterite. The preterite (arriesgué) is for one finished action.
Quiz: arriesgarse in use
Ten questions on arriesgarse in real sentences. Choose the correct answer for each one, then check the answer key. Every answer is explained.
1. Complete the sentence: “Vosotros ______ a perder el dinero.” (To lose the money.)
- (a) os arriesgáis
- (b) me arriesgo
- (c) te arriesgas
Answer: os arriesgáis — The vosotros/as form of arriesgarse in the present is os arriesgáis.
2. Complete the sentence: “Ellos ______ a viajar sin seguro.” (To travel without insurance.)
- (a) me arriesgo
- (b) te arriesgas
- (c) se arriesgan
Answer: se arriesgan — The ellos/ellas/Uds. form of arriesgarse in the present is se arriesgan.
3. Complete the sentence: “Yo ______ a perder el dinero.” (To lose the money.)
- (a) se arriesgó
- (b) me arriesgué
- (c) te arriesgaste
Answer: me arriesgué — The yo form of arriesgarse in the preterite is me arriesgué.
4. Complete the sentence: “Él ______ a viajar sin seguro.” (To travel without insurance.)
- (a) se arriesgaba
- (b) me arriesgaba
- (c) te arriesgabas
Answer: se arriesgaba — The él/ella/Ud. form of arriesgarse in the imperfect is se arriesgaba.
5. Complete the sentence: “Nosotros ______ a hablar sin preparar nada.” (To speak without preparing anything.)
- (a) me arriesgaré
- (b) te arriesgarás
- (c) nos arriesgaremos
Answer: nos arriesgaremos — The nosotros/as form of arriesgarse in the future is nos arriesgaremos.
6. What does arriesgarse mean in English?
- (a) to refuse
- (b) to take a risk
- (c) to dare
Answer: to take a risk — Arriesgarse means “to take a risk”. The other options are the meanings of different verbs.
7. Which sentence is correct?
- (a) Yo me arriesgo a perder el dinero.
- (b) Ellos arriesga a perder el dinero.
- (c) Yo me arriesgo a viajar sin seguro ayer.
Answer: Yo me arriesgo a perder el dinero. — “Yo me arriesgo a perder el dinero.” is correct. The other two sentences contain the mistakes explained in the section above.
8. How do you say “I take a risk to lose the money.” in Spanish?
- (a) Yo se arriesgan a perder el dinero.
- (b) Yo me arriesgué a perder el dinero.
- (c) Yo me arriesgo a perder el dinero.
Answer: Yo me arriesgo a perder el dinero. — “Yo me arriesgo a perder el dinero.” is the correct translation. The second option uses the wrong person's form, and the third uses the preterite.
9. What is the nosotros form of arriesgarse in the present tense?
- (a) te arriesgas
- (b) nos arriesgamos
- (c) me arriesgo
Answer: nos arriesgamos — The nosotros form is nos arriesgamos.
10. Which of these sentences is in the present tense?
- (a) Ayer, yo me arriesgué a perder el dinero.
- (b) Nosotros nos arriesgaremos a perder el dinero mañana.
- (c) Yo me arriesgo a perder el dinero.
Answer: Yo me arriesgo a perder el dinero. — “Yo me arriesgo a perder el dinero.” is in the present tense. The other two are in the preterite and the future.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say 'I take a risk' in Spanish?
Say 'Yo me arriesgo a perder el dinero'. The complement follows directly, as in the examples above. For a routine, add a time expression: 'Yo me arriesgo a perder el dinero todos los días'.
How do you say 'I take a risk' in the past?
For one finished action, say 'Ayer, yo me arriesgué a viajar sin seguro'. For a repeated habit, say 'Yo me arriesgaba a viajar sin seguro todos los días'. For something already done, say 'Yo me he arriesgado a viajar sin seguro'.
What is the difference between arriesgarse and atreverse?
Arriesgarse means to take a risk, while atreverse means to dare. They are easy to confuse because they appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use arriesgarse when you mean to take a risk, as in Me arriesgo a perder el dinero.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of arriesgarse — every tense of arriesgarse in one place.
- Arriesgarse in the present tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Spanish verbs — the hub for every Spanish verb on VerbFlow.
- Verb quiz — test yourself on arriesgarse and other verbs.
- Conjugation practice — drill the forms of arriesgarse until they are automatic.