Introduction
Despertarse means “to wake up”, and it is one of the verbs you will use every day in Spanish. Despertarse is the verb for waking up yourself in the morning. The pronoun me, te, se, nos, os or se always travels with the verb. Despertarse temprano and despertarse tarde describe when you wake. They are the standard phrases for talking about your morning. This page shows despertarse 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 despierto a las siete.” — I wake up at seven.
Despertarse in real example sentences
The twelve sentences below are grouped by how despertarse 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 despertarse in the present tense, which is how you will meet it most often: routines, facts, and things happening now.
“Yo me despierto a las siete.” — I wake up at seven.
“¿Tú te despiertas temprano?” — Do you wake up early?
“Mi hermano se despierta tarde los domingos.” — My brother wakes up late on Sundays.
“Nosotros nos despertamos a las seis.” — We wake up at six.
Talking about the past
The present is not the only tense you need. These sentences show despertarse in the past, so you can talk about what already happened.
“Ayer yo me desperté a las seis.” — Yesterday I woke up at six. (preterite)
“Mi hermano se despertaba tarde cuando era joven.” — My brother used to wake up late when he was young. (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 despertarse stays the same.
“Nosotros nos despertaremos a las cinco mañana.” — We will wake up at five tomorrow. (future)
“¿Tú te has despertado alguna vez en mitad de la noche?” — Have you ever woken up in the middle of the night? (present perfect)
More everyday uses
Four more present-tense sentences, covering the remaining persons, so you can see the whole table in action.
“Vosotros os despertáis con la alarma.” — You wake up with the alarm.
“Ellos se despiertan antes del amanecer.” — They wake up before dawn.
“Yo me despierto en mitad de la noche.” — I wake up in the middle of the night.
“El bebé se despierta dos veces por la noche.” — The baby wakes up twice a night.
Despertarse 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 despertarse appears naturally, without anyone stopping to think about conjugation.
A short dialogue
Ana: “¿Tú te despiertas temprano?” — Do you wake up early?
Luis: “Sí, yo me despierto a las siete.” — Yes, I wake up at seven.
Ana: “Nosotros nos despertamos a las seis.” — We wake up at six.
Luis: “Y ellos se despiertan antes del amanecer.” — And they wake up before dawn.
Ana: “Vosotros os despertáis con la alarma.” — You wake up with the alarm.
Luis: “Sí, y el bebé se despierta dos veces por la noche.” — Yes, and the baby wakes up twice a night.
A short paragraph
Ana se despierta a las siete, y su hermano se despierta tarde los domingos. Nosotros nos despertamos a las seis, y ellos se despiertan antes del amanecer. Yo me despierto en mitad de la noche, y el bebé se despierta dos veces por la noche. Despertarse is part of every morning, because waking up early, waking up late and waking up at night are all part of the same verb.
Common mistakes with despertarse
These are the errors learners actually make with despertarse. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why the correction matters.
Wrong: “Yo despierto a las siete.” Right: “Yo me despierto a las siete.” Why: Without the pronoun, despierto means I wake someone else up, so the sentence is incomplete: whom do you wake? With me, 'Yo me despierto' means I wake up myself. The pronoun is not optional with a reflexive verb.
Wrong: “Nosotros se despiertan a las seis.” Right: “Nosotros nos despertamos a las seis.” Why: Nosotros keeps the unchanged stem: nos despertamos, not se despiertan. The stem change never applies to nosotros or vosotros, and the pronoun must be nos, not se.
Wrong: “Yo te despiertas a las siete.” Right: “Yo me despierto a las siete.” Why: Yo needs me despierto, not te despiertas. The pronoun and the verb form must agree with the same person, and mixing them is the most common reflexive mistake.
Wrong: “Ellos se despierta antes del amanecer.” Right: “Ellos se despiertan antes del amanecer.” Why: Ellos needs se despiertan. The singular se despierta belongs with él, ella or a singular noun such as el bebé.
Wrong: “Ellos me despierto todos los días.” Right: “Ellos se despiertan todos los días.” Why: The verb must agree with its subject. Ellos needs the ellos form se despiertan, not the yo form me despierto. This is the most common agreement slip in the present tense, and it happens because learners memorise the yo form first and then reuse it for every person.
Quiz: despertarse in use
Ten questions on despertarse in real sentences. Choose the correct answer for each one, then check the answer key. Every answer is explained.
1. Complete the sentence: “Vosotros ______ con la alarma.” (You wake up with the alarm.)
- (a) te despiertas
- (b) os despertáis
- (c) me despierto
Answer: os despertáis — The vosotros/as form of despertarse in the present tense is os despertáis.
2. Complete the sentence: “Ellos ______ antes del amanecer.” (They wake up before dawn.)
- (a) se despiertan
- (b) me despierto
- (c) te despiertas
Answer: se despiertan — The ellos/ellas/Uds. form of despertarse in the present tense is se despiertan.
3. Complete the sentence (preterite): “Ayer yo ______ a las seis.” (Yesterday I woke up at six.)
- (a) te despertaste
- (b) se despertó
- (c) me desperté
Answer: me desperté — In the preterite, the yo form of despertarse is me desperté.
4. Complete the sentence (imperfect): “Mi hermano ______ tarde cuando era joven.” (My brother used to wake up late when he was young.)
- (a) te despertabas
- (b) se despertaba
- (c) me despertaba
Answer: se despertaba — In the imperfect, the él/ella/Ud. form of despertarse is se despertaba.
5. Complete the sentence (future): “Nosotros ______ a las cinco mañana.” (We will wake up at five tomorrow.)
- (a) nos despertaremos
- (b) me despertaré
- (c) te despertarás
Answer: nos despertaremos — In the future, the nosotros/as form of despertarse is nos despertaremos.
6. What does despertarse mean in English?
- (a) to finish, to end
- (b) to serve
- (c) to wake up
Answer: to wake up — Despertarse means “to wake up”. The other options are the meanings of different verbs.
7. Which sentence is correct?
- (a) Yo me despierto a las siete.
- (b) Yo despierto a las siete.
- (c) Nosotros se despiertan a las seis.
Answer: Yo me despierto a las siete. — “Yo me despierto a las siete.” is correct. The other two sentences contain the mistakes explained in the section above.
8. How do you say “I wake up in the middle of the night.” in Spanish?
- (a) Yo se despiertan en mitad de la noche.
- (b) Yo me despierto en mitad de la noche.
- (c) El bebé se despierta dos veces por la noche.
Answer: Yo me despierto en mitad de la noche. — “Yo me despierto en mitad de la noche.” is the correct translation. The second option means something different, and the third uses the wrong person's form.
9. What is the nosotros form of despertarse in the present tense?
- (a) me despierto
- (b) te despiertas
- (c) nos despertamos
Answer: nos despertamos — The nosotros form is nos despertamos.
10. Which of these sentences is in the present tense?
- (a) Ayer yo me desperté a las seis.
- (b) Nosotros nos despertaremos a las cinco mañana.
- (c) Yo me despierto a las siete.
Answer: Yo me despierto a las siete. — “Yo me despierto a las siete.” is in the present tense. The other two are in the preterite and the future.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say 'I wake up at seven' in Spanish?
Say 'Me despierto a las siete'. The me is required, and the verb is despierto with the e → ie change. Without me, the sentence means something else entirely.
How do you say 'to wake up early' in Spanish?
Say 'despertarse temprano'. In the present: 'Me despierto temprano'. For late: 'Me despierto tarde'.
Can despertarse be used for waking up at night?
Yes. 'Me despierto en mitad de la noche' means I wake up in the middle of the night. It is the standard phrase for a broken night's sleep.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of despertarse — every tense of despertarse in one place.
- Despertarse 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 despertarse and other verbs.
- Conjugation practice — drill the forms of despertarse until they are automatic.