Cansarse Conjugation in Spanish
cansarse means "to get tired" in English, and it is one of the Spanish verbs you will use again and again in everyday conversation. It is used for talking about getting tired — after work, exercise, studying or a long day, which makes it a practical verb to learn early and to use confidently. This page gives you the complete conjugation of cansarse in every tense and mood — present, preterite, imperfect, future, conditional, the four perfect tenses, both subjunctive tenses and the imperative — with all six persons, plus the gerund and the past participle. Every form below comes from VerbFlow's verified conjugation tables, so you can trust the accents and the irregular forms. Cansarse is a reflexive -ar verb verb, and the notes under each tense explain exactly where it follows the rules and where it breaks them. To hear it in a real sentence: Yo me canso después del trabajo. — "I get tired after work.". Work through the tables, read the notes, then test yourself with the quiz at the end of the page.
Quick facts
- Infinitive: cansarse
- English: to get tired
- Verb type: Reflexive -ar verb
- Gerund: cansando
- Past participle: cansado
- Auxiliary verb: haber (all compound tenses use haber + cansado)
- Reflexive: yes — always use it with the reflexive pronouns me, te, se, nos, os, se.
Full conjugation table
Every tense of cansarse with all six persons. The gerund is cansando and the past participle is cansado.
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | canso |
| tú | cansas |
| él/ella/Ud. | cansa |
| nosotros/as | cansamos |
| vosotros/as | cansáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | cansan |
Preterite (past)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | cansé |
| tú | cansaste |
| él/ella/Ud. | cansó |
| nosotros/as | cansamos |
| vosotros/as | cansasteis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | cansaron |
Imperfect (past)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | cansaba |
| tú | cansabas |
| él/ella/Ud. | cansaba |
| nosotros/as | cansábamos |
| vosotros/as | cansabais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | cansaban |
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | cansaré |
| tú | cansarás |
| él/ella/Ud. | cansará |
| nosotros/as | cansaremos |
| vosotros/as | cansaréis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | cansarán |
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | cansaría |
| tú | cansarías |
| él/ella/Ud. | cansaría |
| nosotros/as | cansaríamos |
| vosotros/as | cansaríais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | cansarían |
Present perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | he cansado |
| tú | has cansado |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha cansado |
| nosotros/as | hemos cansado |
| vosotros/as | habéis cansado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | han cansado |
Pluperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | había cansado |
| tú | habías cansado |
| él/ella/Ud. | había cansado |
| nosotros/as | habíamos cansado |
| vosotros/as | habíais cansado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían cansado |
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habré cansado |
| tú | habrás cansado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá cansado |
| nosotros/as | habremos cansado |
| vosotros/as | habréis cansado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán cansado |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habría cansado |
| tú | habrías cansado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría cansado |
| nosotros/as | habríamos cansado |
| vosotros/as | habríais cansado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían cansado |
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | canse |
| tú | canses |
| él/ella/Ud. | canse |
| nosotros/as | cansemos |
| vosotros/as | canséis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | cansen |
Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | cansara |
| tú | cansaras |
| él/ella/Ud. | cansara |
| nosotros/as | cansáramos |
| vosotros/as | cansarais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | cansaran |
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | cansa |
| él/ella/Ud. | canse |
| nosotros/as | cansemos |
| vosotros/as | cansad |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | cansen |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | canses |
| él/ella/Ud. | canse |
| nosotros/as | cansemos |
| vosotros/as | canséis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | cansen |
Gerund and past participle
| Form | Spanish |
|---|---|
| Gerund | cansando |
| Past participle | cansado |
How to use each tense
Each tense below explains when to use it with cansarse, with one example sentence. The example forms are taken from the tables above.
Present indicative
The present tense talks about what happens now, habits, routines and general truths. It is the first tense every learner needs, because it covers daily life: what you do, what you like, where you live. For most verbs the present is also the base for the present subjunctive, so learning it well pays off twice.
Remember the reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) goes before the verb in these forms.
Example: Yo me canso después del trabajo.
Preterite (past)
The preterite talks about finished actions in the past — things that started and ended at a specific moment. Use it for events, for what happened yesterday, last year, or at a particular time. It answers the question "what happened?" and it is the tense of stories told as a sequence of events.
Remember the reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) goes before the verb in these forms.
Example: Ayer yo me cansé después del trabajo.
Imperfect (past)
The imperfect talks about the past as background: habits, repeated actions, descriptions, and things that were in progress when something else happened. Use it for "used to", for setting a scene, and for age, time and weather in the past. It answers "what was going on?" rather than "what happened?".
Remember the reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) goes before the verb in these forms.
Example: En aquella época, yo me cansaba después del trabajo.
Future
The future tense talks about what will happen: plans, predictions and promises. In everyday speech Spanish speakers often use "ir a + infinitive" instead, but the future tense is essential for formal writing, for promises, and for guessing about the present ("¿Dónde estará?").
Remember the reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) goes before the verb in these forms.
Example: Mañana yo me cansaré después del trabajo.
Conditional
The conditional talks about what would happen: hypothetical situations, polite requests, and advice. It pairs with the imperfect subjunctive in "if" sentences ("Si pudiera, lo haría"). It is also the polite way to ask for things and to soften opinions.
Remember the reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) goes before the verb in these forms.
Example: Yo me cansaría después del trabajo si pudiera.
Present perfect
The present perfect (haber + past participle) talks about the recent past and about experience: what you have done, what has just happened, what you have never tried. It connects the past to the present moment, so it often appears with "hoy", "esta semana", "ya" and "todavía no".
Remember the reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) goes before the verb in these forms.
Example: Yo ya me he cansado después del trabajo.
Pluperfect
The pluperfect (había + past participle) talks about the past before the past: what had already happened when something else happened. Use it to order two past events — the pluperfect one comes first in time. It appears constantly in stories and explanations.
Remember the reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) goes before the verb in these forms.
Example: Yo ya me había cansado después del trabajo antes.
Future perfect
The future perfect (habré + past participle) talks about something that will already be finished by a future moment: "Para mañana ya habré terminado". It is also used to guess about the past: "¿Dónde habrá ido?". It is less common in speech but regular in writing.
Remember the reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) goes before the verb in these forms.
Example: Para mañana yo ya me habré cansado después del trabajo.
Conditional perfect
The conditional perfect (habría + past participle) talks about what would have happened: the past of the conditional. It appears in "if" sentences about a past that did not happen ("Si hubiera sabido, habría venido") and in polite regrets and reproaches.
Remember the reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) goes before the verb in these forms.
Example: Yo me habría cansado después del trabajo si hubiera podido.
Present subjunctive
The present subjunctive is the mood of wishes, doubts, emotions and influence: what you want, hope, doubt or demand. It appears after "quiero que", "espero que", "es posible que", "ojalá" and after verbs of emotion and doubt. It never stands alone — a trigger in the main clause calls for it.
Remember the reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) goes before the verb in these forms.
Example: Espero que él se canse después del trabajo.
Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)
The imperfect subjunctive is the past of the subjunctive: it follows past-tense triggers ("Quería que vinieras") and it is the tense of "if" clauses about unlikely or impossible situations ("Si tuviera dinero, viajaría"). The -ra forms shown here are the standard ones; -se forms exist too but -ra is far more common in speech.
Remember the reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) goes before the verb in these forms.
Example: Si él se cansara después del trabajo, sería perfecto.
Imperative (affirmative)
Affirmative commands tell someone to do something: "¡Ven aquí!", "¡Siéntate!". The tú and vosotros forms are the ones you will use most, and they are also the ones that break the regular pattern most often — the tú affirmative command comes from the él/ella present form, not from the infinitive.
Remember the reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) goes before the verb in these forms.
In affirmative commands the reflexive pronoun attaches to the end of the verb. The table above gives the verb part of the command; add the pronoun (te, se, nos, os) after it.
Imperative (negative)
Negative commands tell someone not to do something: "¡No hables!", "¡No te vayas!". Unlike affirmative commands, negative commands always use the subjunctive forms, for every person. If you know the present subjunctive, you already know the negative imperative.
Remember the reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) goes before the verb in these forms.
Example: No te canses después del trabajo.
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with cansarse, covering different tenses and persons. Read the Spanish first, then check the English.
- Yo me canso después del trabajo. — "I get tired after work."
- ¿Tú te cansas después del trabajo? — "Do you get tired after work?"
- Ayer me cansé después del trabajo. — "Yesterday I got tired after work."
- Ella se cansaba después del trabajo cada día. — "She used to get tired after work every day."
- Mañana yo me cansaré después del trabajo. — "Tomorrow I will get tired after work."
- Yo me cansaría después del trabajo si no duermo bien. — "I would get tired after work if I don't sleep well."
- Ya me he cansado después del trabajo. — "I have already got tired after work."
- Espero que no te canses después del trabajo. — "I hope you don't get tired after work."
Common mistakes
The errors learners actually make with cansarse — and how to fix them.
- Wrong: *Yo canso después del trabajo — the pronoun is often forgotten. → Right: Yo me canso después del trabajo.. Cansarse is reflexive: me canso, te cansas, se cansa. Without the pronoun, cansar means to tire someone else: El trabajo me cansa.
- Wrong: *Estoy cansado después del trabajo — learners sometimes write estoy cansando instead of the adjective. → Right: Estoy cansado después del trabajo.. The participle cansado works as an adjective: Estoy cansado means "I am tired". Estoy cansando would mean "I am tiring (someone)", which is different.
- Wrong: *Me canso de trabajar — some learners add con and write me canso con trabajar. → Right: Me canso de trabajar.. Cansarse takes de before an infinitive: Me canso de trabajar, Me canso de esperar. Never use con here.
- Wrong: *No te canses después del trabajo — learners sometimes use the indicative cansas in a negative command. → Right: No te canses después del trabajo.. Negative commands use the subjunctive: No te canses, not No te cansas.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on cansarse. Answers are at the end, with a short explanation for each.
What is the yo form of cansarse in the present indicative?
- a) canso
- b) cansa
- c) cansamos
- d) cansas
What is the él/ella/Ud. form of cansarse in the preterite (past)?
- a) cansamos
- b) cansaste
- c) cansé
- d) cansó
What is the nosotros/as form of cansarse in the imperfect (past)?
- a) cansaba
- b) cansaba
- c) cansabas
- d) cansábamos
What is the tú form of cansarse in the future?
- a) cansarás
- b) cansaré
- c) cansaremos
- d) cansará
What is the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of cansarse in the conditional?
- a) cansaría
- b) cansarías
- c) cansarían
- d) cansaría
What is the yo form of cansarse in the present subjunctive?
- a) cansemos
- b) canses
- c) canse
- d) canse
What is the gerund of cansarse?
- a) cansando
- b) cansado
- c) cansarse
- d) cansa
What is the past participle of cansarse?
- a) canso
- b) cansado
- c) he cansado
- d) cansando
What does cansarse mean in English?
- a) to bore
- b) to get bored
- c) to get tired
- d) to get worse
The form cansé belongs to which tense?
- a) Preterite
- b) Future
- c) Imperfect
- d) Present
Answer key
- canso — The yo form in the present indicative is canso — the other options are the same tense but different persons.
- cansó — The él/ella/Ud. form in the preterite (past) is cansó — the other options are the same tense but different persons.
- cansábamos — The nosotros/as form in the imperfect (past) is cansábamos — the other options are the same tense but different persons.
- cansarás — The tú form in the future is cansarás — the other options are the same tense but different persons.
- cansarían — The ellos/ellas/Uds. form in the conditional is cansarían — the other options are the same tense but different persons.
- canse — The yo form in the present subjunctive is canse — the other options are the same tense but different persons.
- cansando — The gerund is cansando — it is the form used with estar for the progressive (estoy cansando). The past participle is cansado.
- cansado — The past participle is cansado — it is the form used after haber in the perfect tenses (he cansado).
- to get tired — cansarse means "to get tired".
- Preterite — cansé is the yo form of the preterite of cansarse — a finished past action. The imperfect yo form is cansaba.
Frequently asked questions
Is cansarse reflexive?
Yes. Cansarse always takes a reflexive pronoun: me canso, te cansas, se cansa, nos cansamos, os cansáis, se cansan. The non-reflexive cansar means to tire someone else: El ruido me cansa.
What is the difference between cansarse and estar cansado?
Cansarse describes the process of becoming tired (Me canso después del trabajo), while estar cansado describes the state (Estoy cansado). The participle cansado is the adjective you use most often.
How do you say "I'm tired" in Spanish?
Estoy cansado (if you are male) or Estoy cansada (if you are female). For the process, say Me canso: Me canso después del trabajo.
Does cansarse take a preposition?
Yes, de: Me canso de esperar, Me canso de trabajar. Use de before an infinitive or a noun to say what tires you.
Related pages
- Cansarse in the present tense — the present tense of cansarse in depth, with its own examples and quiz.
- Cansarse examples and quiz — more everyday sentences with cansarse and a second quiz.
- Spanish verbs — the Spanish hub: every verb, every tense guide and every tool in one place.
- Cansar conjugation — another verb in the same family as cansarse.
- Descansar conjugation — another verb in the same family as cansarse.
- Spanish Verb Conjugator — practise cansarse with this tool.
- Reflexive Verb Conjugator — practise cansarse with this tool.
- Present tense guide — how the present tense works for regular and irregular verbs.