Introduction

despreciar means “to despise, to scorn”, and it is one of the verbs you will use every day in Spanish. It is the verb for expressing “to despise, to scorn” in everyday Spanish — in conversation, at work, and at home. This page shows despreciar 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 form unless the sentence is clearly marked as past or future. For a first taste: “Yo desprecio el regalo por la mañana.” — “I despise the gift.”

despreciar in real example sentences

The twelve sentences below are grouped by how despreciar 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 {verb} in the present tense, which is how you will meet it most often: routines, facts, and things happening now.

  1. “Yo desprecio el regalo cada día.” — “I despise the gift.”
  2. “Tú desprecias el regalo cada día.” — “you despise the gift.”
  3. “Él desprecia el regalo siempre.” — “He despises the gift.”
  4. “Nosotros despreciamos el regalo todos los días.” — “We despise the gift.”

Talking about the past

The present is not the only tense you need. These sentences show {verb} in the past, so you can talk about what already happened. 5. “Yo desprecié el regalo ayer.” — “I despised the gift.” (preterite) 6. “Él despreció el regalo ayer.” — “He despised the gift.” (preterite) 7. “Yo despreciaba el regalo cuando era joven.” — “I used to despise the gift.” (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 {verb} stays the same. 8. “Nosotros despreciaremos el regalo mañana.” — “We will despise the gift.” (future) 9. “Tú has despreciado el regalo hoy.” — “you have despised the gift.” (present-perfect) 10. “Espero que yo desprecie el regalo.” — “I hope that I despise the gift.” (present-subjunctive)

More everyday uses

Two more present-tense sentences, covering the remaining persons, so you can see the whole table in action. 11. “Vosotros despreciáis el regalo cada semana.” — “You despise the gift.” 12. “Ellos desprecian el regalo normalmente.” — “They despise the gift.”

despreciar 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 despreciar appears naturally, without anyone stopping to think about conjugation.

Dialogue at work during a coffee break

Marta: “¿Tú desprecias el regalo?” — Do you despise the gift?

Carlos: “Sí, yo desprecio el regalo cada día. Es parte de mi rutina.” — Yes, I despise the gift every day. It is part of my routine.

Marta: “¿Y ayer? ¿También desprecias el regalo?” — And yesterday? Did you despise the gift too?

Carlos: “Sí, ayer yo desprecié el regalo. Mañana nosotros despreciaremos el regalo otra vez.” — Yes, yesterday I despised the gift. Tomorrow we will despise the gift again.

A short paragraph

Él desprecia el regalo cada día — that one sentence already tells you a lot about how despreciar works in real Spanish: who does it, when, and with what. Around it you can build a whole paragraph: what happened yesterday, what is happening now, and what will happen tomorrow, all with the same verb. When you write your own paragraph, start with the present — yo desprecio el regalo — then add one past sentence and one future sentence, and you have practised three tenses with one verb. That is the fastest way to make despreciar yours: use it in a story, not only in a table.

Common mistakes

Forgetting the accent in the preterite

The yo preterite form is desprecié, with an accent on the stressed vowel. Writing it without the accent — desprecie — is a spelling error, and in speech the stress lands in the wrong place. Preterite yo forms that end in a vowel carry that accent, so check it every time you write the preterite of despreciar.

Mixing up present and preterite nosotros

For despreciar, the nosotros form is the same in the present and the preterite: despreciamos. Only the context tells you which tense is meant, so pay attention to the time words around it — cada día points to the present, ayer points to the preterite. Do not invent a different form for one of the tenses.

Using ser instead of haber in perfect tenses

Spanish perfect tenses always use haber, never ser: yo he despreciado el regalo. English speakers sometimes reach for soy because English uses to be in some passives, but soy despreciado is not the present perfect of despreciar — it is a passive construction with a different meaning.

Confusing despreciar with descubrir

despreciar and descubrir look similar, and learners mix them up. They are different verbs with different meanings, so check which one the sentence needs before you conjugate. If you can substitute the English meaning of despreciar — despise — the sentence needs despreciar; if it needs the meaning of descubrir, use that verb instead.

Using the indicative after "espero que"

After espero que (I hope that), Spanish needs the subjunctive: Espero que yo desprecie el regalo. Using the indicative — Espero que yo desprecio — is one of the most frequent learner errors with despreciar. Whenever the main clause expresses a wish, doubt or emotion, switch to the subjunctive.

Quiz

Test yourself on the forms above. Choose the best answer, then check the key below.

1. What is the yo form of despreciar in the present?

  • A. desprecias
  • B. desprecia
  • C. despreciamos
  • D. desprecio

2. What is the tu form of despreciar in the preterite?

  • A. despreciamos
  • B. despreciaste
  • C. desprecié
  • D. despreció

3. What is the el form of despreciar in the imperfect?

  • A. despreciabas
  • B. despreciábamos
  • C. despreciabais
  • D. despreciaba

4. What is the nosotros form of despreciar in the future?

  • A. despreciará
  • B. despreciaremos
  • C. despreciaré
  • D. despreciarás

5. What is the vosotros form of despreciar in the present perfect?

  • A. he despreciado
  • B. has despreciado
  • C. ha despreciado
  • D. habéis despreciado

6. What is the ellos form of despreciar in the present subjunctive?

  • A. desprecie
  • B. desprecien
  • C. desprecie
  • D. desprecies

7. What is the yo form of despreciar in the preterite?

  • A. despreciaste
  • B. despreció
  • C. despreciamos
  • D. desprecié

8. What is the tu form of despreciar in the imperfect?

  • A. despreciábamos
  • B. despreciabas
  • C. despreciaba
  • D. despreciaba

9. What is the el form of despreciar in the future?

  • A. despreciaré
  • B. despreciarás
  • C. despreciaremos
  • D. despreciará

10. What is the nosotros form of despreciar in the conditional?

  • A. despreciaría
  • B. despreciaríamos
  • C. despreciaría
  • D. despreciarías

Answer key

  1. desprecio — The present table gives yo = desprecio.
  2. despreciaste — The preterite table gives tu = despreciaste.
  3. despreciaba — The imperfect table gives el = despreciaba.
  4. despreciaremos — The future table gives nosotros = despreciaremos.
  5. habéis despreciado — The present perfect table gives vosotros = habéis despreciado.
  6. desprecien — The present subjunctive table gives ellos = desprecien.
  7. desprecié — The preterite table gives yo = desprecié.
  8. despreciabas — The imperfect table gives tu = despreciabas.
  9. despreciará — The future table gives el = despreciará.
  10. despreciaríamos — The conditional table gives nosotros = despreciaríamos.

Frequently asked questions

How do I use despreciar in a sentence?

Put the subject first, then the conjugated form, then the rest: “Yo desprecio el regalo.” — “I despise the gift.” Change the form for the person and the tense, but keep the sentence pattern the same.

What is the most useful form of despreciar to learn first?

Learn the present yo form desprecio first, then the preterite yo form desprecié and the participle despreciado. With those three you can talk about the present, the past and the perfect tenses. Add the gerund despreciando next, and you can describe actions in progress too.

Is despreciar reflexive?

No — despreciar is not reflexive. It takes a direct object, not a reflexive pronoun: yo desprecio el regalo. Do not add me or se to it unless the sentence genuinely needs a pronoun for another reason.

Where can I see the full conjugation of despreciar?

On the main conjugation page for despreciar, which has every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle, plus notes, examples and a quiz. The present-tense page covers one tense in depth if that is what you need right now.

Related links