Bordar Examples, Sentences and Quiz in Spanish

bordar means to embroider, and it is a verb you will meet in everyday Spanish again and again. Bordar means to embroider, and it is used for embroidering a name on a shirt, a pattern on a tablecloth and decorative stitching in general. It is a fully regular -ar verb, and it is the most decorative of the craft verbs. This page puts bordar to work: twelve example sentences in different tenses and persons, grouped by use, then two short dialogues where the verb appears naturally, then the common mistakes to avoid, and finally a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Every Spanish form on this page comes from the verified conjugation tables for bordar, and the full tables are on the bordar conjugation page if you need to check a form.

Example sentences

Everyday uses

  1. Yo bordo un nombre en la camisa. — I embroider a name on the shirt.
  2. Él borda flores en el mantel. — He/she embroiders flowers on the tablecloth.
  3. Ayer, yo bordé con hilo de colores. — Yesterday, I embroidered with coloured thread.
  4. Antes, nosotros bordábamos a mano por las tardes. — Before, we used to embroider by hand in the afternoons.

In other tenses

  1. Mañana, tú bordarás un nombre en la camisa. — Tomorrow, you will embroider a name on the shirt.
  2. Yo bordaría flores en el mantel. — I would embroider flowers on the tablecloth.
  3. Él ha bordado con hilo de colores. — He/she has embroidered with coloured thread.
  4. Espero que él borde a mano por las tardes. — I hope he/she embroiders by hand in the afternoons.

With other people

  1. Nosotros bordamos un nombre en la camisa. — We embroider a name on the shirt.
  2. Vosotros bordáis flores en el mantel. — You all embroider flowers on the tablecloth.
  3. Antes, ellos bordaban con hilo de colores. — Before, they used to embroider with coloured thread.
  4. Mañana, él bordará a mano por las tardes. — Tomorrow, he/she will embroider by hand in the afternoons.

Bordar in context

Two short dialogues that use bordar the way people really use it. Read them aloud — the verb forms will stick much faster in a conversation than in a table.

Dialogue 1: today and yesterday

  • Ana: "Hola, ¿qué tal?" — "Hello, how are you?"
  • Luis: "Hoy bordo un nombre en la camisa." — "Today I embroider a name on the shirt."
  • Ana: "¿Y ayer?" — "And yesterday?"
  • Luis: "Ayer, bordé con hilo de colores." — "Yesterday I embroidered with coloured thread."
  • Ana: "¿Y mañana, tú bordarás flores en el mantel?" — "And tomorrow, will you will embroider flowers on the tablecloth?"
  • Luis: "Sí, claro. Y tú también." — "Yes, of course. And you too."

Dialogue 2: making plans

  • Marta: "Mañana, nosotros bordamos a mano por las tardes." — "Tomorrow we embroider by hand in the afternoons."
  • Carlos: "Perfecto. Yo bordaría flores en el mantel si tuviera más tiempo." — "Perfect. I would would embroider flowers on the tablecloth if I had more time."
  • Marta: "Espero que él borde un nombre en la camisa." — "I hope he embroiders a name on the shirt."
  • Carlos: "Seguro que sí. Él ya ha bordado con hilo de colores." — "Surely. He has already has embroidered with coloured thread."
  • Marta: "Vale, nos vemos mañana." — "OK, see you tomorrow."

Notice how the same verb changes with the tense: the present for the plan, the conditional for the wish, the subjunctive after espero que, and the present perfect for what has already happened. That is the whole point of learning a verb across its tenses, not just in one form.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo borda un nombre en la camisa. — Right: Yo bordo un nombre en la camisa. — The person matters: borda is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is bordo. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
  2. Wrong: Vosotros bordais flores en el mantel. — Right: Vosotros bordáis flores en el mantel. — The vosotros present form carries a written accent: bordáis, not bordais. The accent marks the stressed vowel.
  3. Wrong: Treating bordar and coser as identical in every context. — Right: Bordar means to embroider, while coser means to sew, the general craft verb. — They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: bordar fits sentences such as Bordo un nombre en la camisa, while coser belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy bordado flores en el mantel. — Right: Yo he bordado flores en el mantel. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he bordado, has bordado, ha bordado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
  5. Wrong: De niño, yo bordé con hilo de colores todos los días. — Right: De niño, yo bordaba con hilo de colores todos los días. — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (bordaba), not the preterite. The preterite (bordé) is for one finished action.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on bordar: four on the forms, three on the meaning, and three on spotting the correct sentence. Check the answer key below.

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ un nombre en la camisa. (present tense) A. bordo B. bordas C. borda D. bordamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Él ___ flores en el mantel. (preterite tense) A. bordé B. bordaste C. bordamos D. bordó

  3. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ con hilo de colores. (future tense) A. bordará B. bordaremos C. bordarás D. bordaré

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ a mano por las tardes. (imperfect tense) A. bordabais B. bordábamos C. bordaba D. bordabas

  5. What does "Yo bordo un nombre en la camisa." mean in English? A. I embroider a name on the shirt. B. I embroider flowers on the tablecloth. C. I embroider with coloured thread. D. I embroider by hand in the afternoons.

  6. What does "Él bordó flores en el mantel." mean in English? A. He/she embroidered a name on the shirt. B. He/she embroidered with coloured thread. C. He/she embroidered by hand in the afternoons. D. He/she embroidered flowers on the tablecloth.

  7. What does "Nosotros bordaremos con hilo de colores." mean in English? A. We will embroider flowers on the tablecloth. B. We will embroider by hand in the afternoons. C. We will embroider with coloured thread. D. We will embroider a name on the shirt.

  8. Which sentence is correct? A. Yo bordan flores en el mantel. B. Yo borda flores en el mantel. C. Yo bordo flores en el mantel.

  9. Which sentence is correct? A. Él bordé con hilo de colores. B. Él bordó con hilo de colores. C. Él bordaron con hilo de colores.

  10. Which sentence is correct? A. Espero que yo borde a mano por las tardes. B. Yo borden a mano por las tardes. C. Yo borde a mano por las tardes.

Answer key

  1. bordo — The yo present form of bordar is bordo.
  2. bordó — The el preterite form of bordar is bordó.
  3. bordarás — The tu future form of bordar is bordarás.
  4. bordábamos — The nosotros imperfect form of bordar is bordábamos.
  5. I embroider a name on the shirt. — The Spanish sentence uses the present form bordo, so the English is "I embroider a name on the shirt." The other options use a different object or situation.
  6. He/she embroidered flowers on the tablecloth. — The Spanish sentence uses the preterite form bordó, so the English is "He/she embroidered flowers on the tablecloth." The other options use a different object or situation.
  7. We will embroider with coloured thread. — The Spanish sentence uses the future form bordaremos, so the English is "We will embroider with coloured thread." The other options use a different object or situation.
  8. Yo bordo flores en el mantel. — The correct sentence is "Yo bordo flores en el mantel." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.
  9. Él bordó con hilo de colores. — The correct sentence is "Él bordó con hilo de colores." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.
  10. Espero que yo borde a mano por las tardes. — The correct sentence is "Espero que yo borde a mano por las tardes." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.

Frequently asked questions

What does bordar mean, and when do I use it?

Bordar means to embroider. Bordar means to embroider, and it is used for embroidering a name on a shirt, a pattern on a tablecloth and decorative stitching in general. It is a fully regular -ar verb, and it is the most decorative of the craft verbs. A good first sentence to remember is Yo bordo un nombre en la camisa. — "I embroider a name on the shirt."

What is the difference between bordar and coser?

Bordar means to embroider, while coser means to sew, the general craft verb. They appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use bordar when you mean to embroider, as in Yo bordo flores en el mantel., and use coser for to sew, the general craft verb.

How do I say "I embroider" in the past?

For one finished action, use the preterite: Yo bordé flores en el mantel.. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: Yo bordaba con hilo de colores.. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Yo he bordado flores en el mantel..

How do I practise bordar?

Start with the bordar conjugation page for the full tables, then the bordar in the present tense page for the tense in focus, and use the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure. Bordar is fully regular: bordé, bordaba, bordaré. It is embroidery, not plain sewing — the stitching is the decoration.

Related links