Burlarse Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Spanish

burlarse means “to mock, to make fun of” in English, and this page shows you how it actually sounds in everyday Spanish — not just the conjugation table, but the verb in real sentences, in short dialogues, and in the mistakes learners make with it. Burlarse means to mock or to make fun of someone, to laugh at a person in an unkind way. It is reflexive and takes de for the person mocked, and it is fully regular. Below you will find twelve example sentences grouped by tense, two short dialogues, the most common mistakes with corrections, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. If you want the full tables first, start with the full conjugation of burlarse; if you want to study one tense in depth, see the burlarse present tense page.

burlarse in everyday use: examples with translations

In the present tense

  1. Yo me burlo de su compañero en clase. — “I mock his classmate in class.”
  2. Él se burla de su jefe a sus espaldas. — “He mocks his boss behind his back.”
  3. Nosotros nos burlamos de los turistas en la calle. — “We mock the tourists in the street.”
  4. Ellos se burlan de su hermano menor. — “They mock his younger brother.”

In the past

  1. Ayer, yo me burlé de su jefe a sus espaldas. — “Yesterday, I mocked his boss behind his back.”
  2. Antes, nosotros nos burlábamos de los turistas en la calle. — “Before, we used to mock the tourists in the street.”
  3. Él se burló de su hermano menor. — “He mocked his younger brother.”
  4. Yo ya me había burlado de su compañero en clase antes de salir. — “I had already mocked his classmate in class before leaving.”

Plans, hopes and possibilities

  1. Mañana, tú te burlarás de su compañero en clase. — “Tomorrow, you will mock his classmate in class.”
  2. Yo me burlaría de su jefe a sus espaldas si tuviera más tiempo. — “I would mock his boss behind his back if I had more time.”
  3. Él se ha burlado de los turistas en la calle. — “He has mocked the tourists in the street.”
  4. Espero que él se burle de su hermano menor. — “I hope he mocks his younger brother.”

burlarse in conversation

Two short dialogues that use burlarse the way people really speak it. Notice how the verb changes with the person, and how the same verb fits different situations.

Two friends talk about their day.

  • Ana: Yo me burlo de su compañero en clase. — “I mock his classmate in class.”
  • Bea: Él se burla de su jefe a sus espaldas. — “He mocks his boss behind his back.”
  • Ana: Ayer, yo me burlé de su jefe a sus espaldas. — “Yesterday, I mocked his boss behind his back.”
  • Bea: Mañana, tú te burlarás de su compañero en clase. — “Tomorrow, you will mock his classmate in class.”

At home, talking about tomorrow.

  • Luis: Nosotros nos burlamos de los turistas en la calle. — “We mock the tourists in the street.”
  • Marta: Antes, nosotros nos burlábamos de los turistas en la calle. — “Before, we used to mock the tourists in the street.”
  • Luis: Yo me burlaría de su jefe a sus espaldas si tuviera más tiempo. — “I would mock his boss behind his back if I had more time.”
  • Marta: Espero que él se burle de su hermano menor. — “I hope he mocks his younger brother.”

A short scene with burlarse

A short scene shows how burlarse works across the day. In the morning: Me burlo de su compañero en clase. In the afternoon: Se burla de su jefe a sus espaldas. Yesterday it was different: Ayer, me burlé de los turistas en la calle. And tomorrow: Mañana, me burlaré de su hermano menor. Four small moments, four tenses, one verb — that is how burlarse sounds in real life. Try changing the person in each sentence: say it about yourself, about a friend, and about your family, and the forms will start to feel automatic.

Common mistakes with burlarse

The errors learners actually make with burlarse, each with the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.

✗ Yo burlo de su compañero en clase.

✓ Correct: Yo me burlo de su compañero en clase.

Burlarse is reflexive, so the pronoun me is required: without it the verb means something else, or nothing at all.

✗ Ayer yo burlo de su jefe a sus espaldas.

✓ Correct: Ayer yo burlé de su jefe a sus espaldas.

The present and the preterite are different tenses: burlo is happening now, while burlé is a finished action in the past. Use the preterite with ayer.

✗ Treating burlarse and reírse as identical in every context.

✓ Correct: Burlarse means to mock, to make fun of, while reírse means to laugh, in general.

They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: burlarse fits sentences such as Me burlo de su compañero en clase, while reírse belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.

✗ Yo soy burlado de su jefe a sus espaldas.

✓ Correct: Yo he burlado de su jefe a sus espaldas.

Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he burlado, has burlado, ha burlado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.

✗ De niño, yo burlé de los turistas en la calle todos los días.

✓ Correct: De niño, yo burlaba de los turistas en la calle todos los días.

For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (burlaba), not the preterite. The preterite (burlé) is for one finished action.

Quiz: burlarse in use

Ten questions on burlarse — its forms, its tenses and its everyday use. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below, where every answer is explained.

1. Complete the sentence: Él ______ de su jefe a sus espaldas. — “He/she mocks his boss behind his back.”

  • a) se burla
  • b) me burlo
  • c) te burlas
  • d) nos burlamos

2. Complete the sentence: Ayer, yo ______ de los turistas en la calle. — “Yesterday, I mocked the tourists in the street.”

  • a) te burlaste
  • b) se burló
  • c) se burlaron
  • d) me burlé

3. Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ de su hermano menor cuando eran jóvenes. — “They used to mock his younger brother when they were young.”

  • a) te burlabas
  • b) nos burlábamos
  • c) se burlaban
  • d) me burlaba

4. Complete the sentence: Mañana, nosotros ______ de su compañero en clase. — “Tomorrow, we will mock his classmate in class.”

  • a) se burlarán
  • b) nos burlaremos
  • c) me burlaré
  • d) te burlarás

5. Complete the sentence: Él ______ de su jefe a sus espaldas si pudiera. — “He would mock his boss behind his back if he could.”

  • a) se burlaría
  • b) me burlaría
  • c) te burlarías
  • d) nos burlaríamos

6. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ de los turistas en la calle. — “I have mocked the tourists in the street.”

  • a) te has burlado
  • b) se ha burlado
  • c) se han burlado
  • d) me he burlado

7. Complete the sentence: Espero que tú ______ de su hermano menor. — “I hope you mock his younger brother.”

  • a) se burle
  • b) nos burlemos
  • c) te burles
  • d) me burle

8. Which is the past participle of burlarse, used with haber in the perfect tenses?

  • a) burlé
  • b) burlado
  • c) burlando
  • d) burlo

9. What does burlarse mean in English?

  • a) to mock, to make fun of
  • b) to laugh, in general
  • c) to throw away, to bounce
  • d) to nod (the head)

10. Which sentence is correct?

  • a) Él burla de su jefe a sus espaldas.
  • b) Él burlo de su jefe a sus espaldas.
  • c) Nosotros burla de los turistas en la calle.
  • d) Yo burla de su compañero en clase.

Answer key

  1. a) se burla — The sentence needs the él/ella/Ud. form in the present: se burla.

  2. d) me burlé — The sentence needs the yo form in the preterite: me burlé, for one finished action yesterday.

  3. c) se burlaban — The sentence needs the ellos/ellas form in the imperfect: se burlaban, for a repeated past habit.

  4. b) nos burlaremos — The sentence needs the nosotros form in the future: nos burlaremos.

  5. a) se burlaría — The sentence needs the él/ella/Ud. form in the conditional: se burlaría.

  6. d) me he burlado — The sentence needs the yo form in the present perfect: me he burlado, haber + burlado.

  7. c) te burles — After espero que, the subjunctive is required: the tú present subjunctive is te burles.

  8. b) burlado — The past participle is burlado: he burlado, has burlado, ha burlado. The gerund burlando is used with estar instead.

  9. a) to mock, to make fun of — burlarse means to mock, to make fun of. The other options are the meanings of different verbs.

  10. a) Él burla de su jefe a sus espaldas. — Él burla de su jefe a sus espaldas. is correct: the verb agrees with its subject. The other sentences mix up the person and the form.

Frequently asked questions

How do I use burlarse in everyday conversation?

Start with the phrases in the examples above — especially the common combinations such as Me burlo de su compañero en clase and Se burla de su jefe a sus espaldas. Use the present tense for habits and general facts, and the preterite for things that happened once. Say the sentences aloud until the forms feel automatic, then swap in your own details: your own town, your own family, your own routine.

What is the difference between burlarse and reírse?

Burlarse means “to mock, to make fun of”, while reírse means “to laugh, in general”. They are related words that learners often meet together, but they are not interchangeable — use burlarse when you mean “to mock, to make fun of” and reírse when you mean “to laugh, in general”.

Which tense do I need most with burlarse?

The present tense, for habits, routines and general facts — that is where you will use burlarse most. The preterite comes next, for things that happened once and ended. The examples on this page use both, plus the imperfect, the future and the present perfect, so you can see the verb across the tenses you actually need.

Is burlarse formal or informal?

Burlarse is neutral — it is used in both formal and informal Spanish, at home, at work and at school. There is no special formal version of it; the same forms work in a conversation with a friend and in a letter to a company. What changes is the situation, not the verb.

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