Chatear Conjugation in Spanish

The Spanish verb chatear means to chat online, and it is a verb you will use again and again once you know it. Chatear means to chat online, to exchange messages on a phone or a computer. It is a modern, fully regular verb borrowed from English, used by young people and in everyday digital life. Like every Spanish verb, chatear changes its ending for each person and tense, and this page gives you the complete picture: every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle, all from the verified conjugation tables. For example, in the present tense you say chateo con sus amigos por la noche, and in the preterite you say chateé con su novia todos los días. Work through the tables below, read the notes for each tense, and then test yourself with the examples, the common mistakes and the quiz at the end of the page.

Quick facts

  • Infinitive: chatear
  • English: to chat online
  • Verb type: regular -ar verb
  • Ending: -ar
  • Gerund: chateando
  • Past participle: chateado
  • Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + chateado)

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for chatear, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one. Chatear is fully regular: chateo, chatea. It is chatting in writing, online; hablar is talking in general, usually out loud.

Full conjugation tables

Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for chatear. The imperfect subjunctive is shown in its -ra forms; the -se forms use the same stem. For reflexive verbs, the pronoun column shows the reflexive pronoun that goes before each form.

Present indicative

Person Form
yo chateo
tú chateas
él/ella/Ud. chatea
nosotros/as chateamos
vosotros/as chateáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. chatean

Preterite

Person Form
yo chateé
tú chateaste
él/ella/Ud. chateó
nosotros/as chateamos
vosotros/as chateasteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. chatearon

Imperfect

Person Form
yo chateaba
tú chateabas
él/ella/Ud. chateaba
nosotros/as chateábamos
vosotros/as chateabais
ellos/ellas/Uds. chateaban

Future

Person Form
yo chatearé
tú chatearás
él/ella/Ud. chateará
nosotros/as chatearemos
vosotros/as chatearéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. chatearán

Conditional

Person Form
yo chatearía
tú chatearías
él/ella/Ud. chatearía
nosotros/as chatearíamos
vosotros/as chatearíais
ellos/ellas/Uds. chatearían

Present perfect

Person Form
yo he chateado
tú has chateado
él/ella/Ud. ha chateado
nosotros/as hemos chateado
vosotros/as habéis chateado
ellos/ellas/Uds. han chateado

Pluperfect

Person Form
yo había chateado
tú habías chateado
él/ella/Ud. había chateado
nosotros/as habíamos chateado
vosotros/as habíais chateado
ellos/ellas/Uds. habían chateado

Future perfect

Person Form
yo habré chateado
tú habrás chateado
él/ella/Ud. habrá chateado
nosotros/as habremos chateado
vosotros/as habréis chateado
ellos/ellas/Uds. habrán chateado

Conditional perfect

Person Form
yo habría chateado
tú habrías chateado
él/ella/Ud. habría chateado
nosotros/as habríamos chateado
vosotros/as habríais chateado
ellos/ellas/Uds. habrían chateado

Present subjunctive

Person Form
yo chatee
tú chatees
él/ella/Ud. chatee
nosotros/as chateemos
vosotros/as chateéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. chateen

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)

Person Form
yo chateara
tú chatearas
él/ella/Ud. chateara
nosotros/as chateáramos
vosotros/as chatearais
ellos/ellas/Uds. chatearan

Imperative (affirmative)

Person Form
tú chatea
él/ella/Ud. chatee
nosotros/as chateemos
vosotros/as chatead
ellos/ellas/Uds. chateen

Imperative (negative)

Person Form
tú chatees
él/ella/Ud. chatee
nosotros/as chateemos
vosotros/as chateéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. chateen

Gerund and past participle

Form Spanish Use
Gerund chateando with estar for the progressive: estoy chateando
Past participle chateado with haber for the perfect tenses: he chateado

How to use each tense

Present indicative

Use the present for routines, general facts and what is happening right now. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For chatear, the present looks like this in a real sentence: Chateo con sus amigos por la noche. Learn the present forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Preterite

Use the preterite for finished actions with a clear end, often with ayer, el año pasado or anoche. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For chatear, the preterite looks like this in a real sentence: Ayer, chateé en el grupo de la clase. Learn the preterite forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Imperfect

Use the imperfect for background, habits and actions in progress in the past, often with de niño, antes or mientras. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For chatear, the imperfect looks like this in a real sentence: De niño, chateaba con su novia todos los días. Learn the imperfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Future

Use the future for plans, predictions and promises, often with mañana, el año que viene or pronto. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For chatear, the future looks like this in a real sentence: Mañana, chatearé por internet con desconocidos. Learn the future forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Conditional

Use the conditional for polite requests, hypotheticals and what would happen, often with si clauses. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For chatear, the conditional looks like this in a real sentence: Chatearía con sus amigos por la noche si pudiera. Learn the conditional forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Present perfect

Use the present perfect for recent actions and experiences, often with hoy, esta semana or ya. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For chatear, the present perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Hoy, he chateado en el grupo de la clase. Learn the present perfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Pluperfect

Use the pluperfect when one past action happened before another past action. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For chatear, the pluperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Había chateado con su novia todos los días antes de salir. Learn the pluperfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Future perfect

Use the future perfect for something that will already be finished by a future time. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For chatear, the future perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Para mañana, habré chateado por internet con desconocidos. Learn the future perfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Conditional perfect

Use the conditional perfect for what would have happened under different conditions. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For chatear, the conditional perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Habría chateado con sus amigos por la noche con más tiempo. Learn the conditional perfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Present subjunctive

Use the present subjunctive after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion and hope, such as espero que or quiero que. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For chatear, the present subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Espero que él chatee en el grupo de la clase. Learn the present subjunctive forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)

Use the imperfect subjunctive after past wishes and in si clauses about the past, and note the -ra forms shown here; the -se forms use the same stem. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For chatear, the imperfect subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Si él chateara con su novia todos los días, todo cambiaría. Learn the imperfect subjunctive forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Imperative (affirmative)

Use the affirmative imperative for direct commands, instructions and invitations. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For chatear, the affirmative imperative looks like this in a real sentence: ¡Chatea por internet con desconocidos! Learn the affirmative imperative forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Imperative (negative)

Use the negative imperative, always with no, to tell someone not to do something. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For chatear, the negative imperative looks like this in a real sentence: No chatees con sus amigos por la noche. Learn the negative imperative forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Example sentences

Ten natural sentences with chatear, covering different tenses and persons. Each one uses a form from the tables above.

  1. Chateo con sus amigos por la noche. — I chat online with my friends at night.
  2. Chatea en el grupo de la clase. — He/she chats online in the class group.
  3. Ayer, chateé con su novia todos los días. — Yesterday, I chatted online with my girlfriend every day.
  4. Antes, nosotros chateábamos por internet con desconocidos. — Before, we used to chat online online with strangers.
  5. Mañana, tú chatearás con sus amigos por la noche. — Tomorrow, you will chat online with my friends at night.
  6. Yo chatearía en el grupo de la clase si tuviera más tiempo. — I would chat online in the class group if I had more time.
  7. Él ha chateado con su novia todos los días. — He has chatted online with my girlfriend every day.
  8. Espero que él chatee por internet con desconocidos. — I hope he chats online online with strangers.
  9. Yo ya había chateado con sus amigos por la noche antes de salir. — I had already chatted online with my friends at night before leaving.
  10. Ellos chateaban en el grupo de la clase cuando eran jóvenes. — They used to chat online in the class group when they were young.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo chatea con sus amigos por la noche. — Right: Yo chateo con sus amigos por la noche. — The person matters: chatea is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is chateo. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
  2. Wrong: Ayer yo chateo en el grupo de la clase. — Right: Ayer yo chateé en el grupo de la clase. — The present and the preterite are different tenses: chateo is happening now, while chateé is a finished action in the past. Use the preterite with ayer.
  3. Wrong: Treating chatear and hablar as identical in every context. — Right: Chatear means to chat online, while hablar means to talk. — They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: chatear fits sentences such as Chateo con sus amigos por la noche, while hablar belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy chateado en el grupo de la clase. — Right: Yo he chateado en el grupo de la clase. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he chateado, has chateado, ha chateado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
  5. Wrong: De niño, yo chateé con su novia todos los días todos los días. — Right: De niño, yo chateaba con su novia todos los días todos los días. — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (chateaba), not the preterite. The preterite (chateé) is for one finished action.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on chatear. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ con sus amigos por la noche. (present tense) A. chateo B. chateas C. chatea D. chateamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Ayer, él ___ en el grupo de la clase. (preterite) A. chateé B. chateaste C. chatearon D. chateó

  3. Complete the sentence: Antes, nosotros ___ con su novia todos los días. (imperfect) A. chateabas B. chateaban C. chateábamos D. chateaba

  4. Complete the sentence: Mañana, tú ___ por internet con desconocidos. (future) A. chatearemos B. chatearás C. chatearé D. chateará

  5. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ con sus amigos por la noche si pudiera. (conditional) A. chatearía B. chatearías C. chatearían D. chateo

  6. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ___ en el grupo de la clase. (present subjunctive) A. chatees B. chateemos C. chateo D. chatee

  7. Complete the sentence: Si yo ___ con su novia todos los días, todo cambiaría. (imperfect subjunctive, -ra form) A. chateáramos B. chateo C. chateara D. chatearas

  8. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ por internet con desconocidos. (present perfect) A. han chateado B. hemos chateado C. he chateado D. has chateado

  9. Complete the command: ¡___ con sus amigos por la noche! (affirmative imperative, tú) A. chatea B. chatee C. chateemos D. chatead

  10. Which is the gerund of chatear, used with estar for the progressive? A. chateado B. chateo C. chateé D. chateando

Answer key

  1. chateo — The first-person present of chatear is chateo. The other options are the tú, él/ella and nosotros forms.
  2. chateó — The third-person preterite of chatear is chateó, the form for a single finished action in the past.
  3. chateábamos — The nosotros imperfect of chatear is chateábamos, used here for a repeated past habit.
  4. chatearás — The second-person future of chatear is chatearás.
  5. chatearía — The first-person conditional of chatear is chatearía, the form for what would happen.
  6. chatee — After espero que, the subjunctive is required: the third-person present subjunctive of chatear is chatee.
  7. chateara — The first-person imperfect subjunctive (-ra) of chatear is chateara.
  8. hemos chateado — The nosotros present perfect of chatear is hemos chateado: hemos + chateado.
  9. chatea — The affirmative tú imperative of chatear is chatea.
  10. chateando — The gerund of chatear is chateando: estoy chateando. The participle chateado is used with haber instead.

Frequently asked questions

What does chatear mean in English?

Chatear means to chat online. It is used in everyday situations such as Chateo con sus amigos por la noche. The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.

Is chatear regular or irregular?

Chatear is a fully regular -ar verb, so every tense follows the standard endings for its class. Once you know the regular pattern, you can produce every form on this page, including chateo in the present and chateé in the preterite.

What is the difference between chatear and hablar?

Chatear means to chat online, while hablar means to talk. They are easy to confuse because they appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use chatear when you mean to chat online, as in Chateo con sus amigos por la noche, and use hablar for to talk. When in doubt, check the object of the sentence — it usually shows which verb fits.

How do I say “I chat online” in the past?

It depends on the kind of past. For one finished action, use the preterite: yo chateé en el grupo de la clase. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: yo chateaba con su novia todos los días. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: yo he chateado en el grupo de la clase.

How do I practise chatear?

Start with the present tense table, then drill the preterite and the imperfect, since those two past tenses cause the most mistakes. Try the chatear examples and quiz page for more sentences, and use the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure.

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