Disimular Conjugation in Spanish
The Spanish verb disimular means to hide, to conceal, and it is a verb you will use again and again once you know it. Disimular means to hide or to conceal, to hide a feeling, a mistake or a fact so others do not notice it. It is used for emotions, errors and secrets, and it is fully regular. Like every Spanish verb, disimular 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 disimulo su nerviosismo en la entrevista, and in the preterite you say disimulé el error ante el jefe. 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: disimular
- English: to hide, to conceal
- Verb type: regular -ar verb
- Ending: -ar
- Gerund: disimulando
- Past participle: disimulado
- Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + disimulado)
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for disimular, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one. Disimular is fully regular: disimulo, disimula. It is hiding something so it is not noticed; ocultar is hiding something away physically or in words.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for disimular. 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 | disimulo |
| tú | disimulas |
| él/ella/Ud. | disimula |
| nosotros/as | disimulamos |
| vosotros/as | disimuláis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | disimulan |
Preterite
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | disimulé |
| tú | disimulaste |
| él/ella/Ud. | disimuló |
| nosotros/as | disimulamos |
| vosotros/as | disimulasteis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | disimularon |
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | disimulaba |
| tú | disimulabas |
| él/ella/Ud. | disimulaba |
| nosotros/as | disimulábamos |
| vosotros/as | disimulabais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | disimulaban |
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | disimularé |
| tú | disimularás |
| él/ella/Ud. | disimulará |
| nosotros/as | disimularemos |
| vosotros/as | disimularéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | disimularán |
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | disimularía |
| tú | disimularías |
| él/ella/Ud. | disimularía |
| nosotros/as | disimularíamos |
| vosotros/as | disimularíais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | disimularían |
Present perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | he disimulado |
| tú | has disimulado |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha disimulado |
| nosotros/as | hemos disimulado |
| vosotros/as | habéis disimulado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | han disimulado |
Pluperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | había disimulado |
| tú | habías disimulado |
| él/ella/Ud. | había disimulado |
| nosotros/as | habíamos disimulado |
| vosotros/as | habíais disimulado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían disimulado |
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habré disimulado |
| tú | habrás disimulado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá disimulado |
| nosotros/as | habremos disimulado |
| vosotros/as | habréis disimulado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán disimulado |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habría disimulado |
| tú | habrías disimulado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría disimulado |
| nosotros/as | habríamos disimulado |
| vosotros/as | habríais disimulado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían disimulado |
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | disimule |
| tú | disimules |
| él/ella/Ud. | disimule |
| nosotros/as | disimulemos |
| vosotros/as | disimuléis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | disimulen |
Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | disimulara |
| tú | disimularas |
| él/ella/Ud. | disimulara |
| nosotros/as | disimuláramos |
| vosotros/as | disimularais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | disimularan |
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | disimula |
| él/ella/Ud. | disimule |
| nosotros/as | disimulemos |
| vosotros/as | disimulad |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | disimulen |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | disimules |
| él/ella/Ud. | disimule |
| nosotros/as | disimulemos |
| vosotros/as | disimuléis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | disimulen |
Gerund and past participle
| Form | Spanish | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Gerund | disimulando | with estar for the progressive: estoy disimulando |
| Past participle | disimulado | with haber for the perfect tenses: he disimulado |
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 disimular, the present looks like this in a real sentence: Disimulo su nerviosismo en la entrevista. 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 disimular, the preterite looks like this in a real sentence: Ayer, disimulé la risa durante 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 disimular, the imperfect looks like this in a real sentence: De niño, disimulaba el error ante el jefe. 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 disimular, the future looks like this in a real sentence: Mañana, disimularé su sorpresa al ver el regalo. 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 disimular, the conditional looks like this in a real sentence: Disimularía su nerviosismo en la entrevista 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 disimular, the present perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Hoy, he disimulado la risa durante 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 disimular, the pluperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Había disimulado el error ante el jefe 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 disimular, the future perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Para mañana, habré disimulado su sorpresa al ver el regalo. 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 disimular, the conditional perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Habría disimulado su nerviosismo en la entrevista 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 disimular, the present subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Espero que él disimule la risa durante 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 disimular, the imperfect subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Si él disimulara el error ante el jefe, 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 disimular, the affirmative imperative looks like this in a real sentence: ¡Disimula su sorpresa al ver el regalo! 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 disimular, the negative imperative looks like this in a real sentence: No disimules su nerviosismo en la entrevista. 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 disimular, covering different tenses and persons. Each one uses a form from the tables above.
- Disimulo su nerviosismo en la entrevista. — I hide his nervousness in the interview.
- Disimula la risa durante la clase. — He/she hides laughter during the lesson.
- Ayer, disimulé el error ante el jefe. — Yesterday, I hid the mistake before the boss.
- Antes, nosotros disimulábamos su sorpresa al ver el regalo. — Before, we used to hide his surprise on seeing the present.
- Mañana, tú disimularás su nerviosismo en la entrevista. — Tomorrow, you will hide his nervousness in the interview.
- Yo disimularía la risa durante la clase si tuviera más tiempo. — I would hide laughter during the lesson if I had more time.
- Él ha disimulado el error ante el jefe. — He has hidden the mistake before the boss.
- Espero que él disimule su sorpresa al ver el regalo. — I hope he hides his surprise on seeing the present.
- Yo ya había disimulado su nerviosismo en la entrevista antes de salir. — I had already hidden his nervousness in the interview before leaving.
- Ellos disimulaban la risa durante la clase cuando eran jóvenes. — They used to hide laughter during the lesson when they were young.
Common mistakes
- Wrong: Yo disimula su nerviosismo en la entrevista. — Right: Yo disimulo su nerviosismo en la entrevista. — The person matters: disimula is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is disimulo. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
- Wrong: Ayer yo disimulo la risa durante la clase. — Right: Ayer yo disimulé la risa durante la clase. — The present and the preterite are different tenses: disimulo is happening now, while disimulé is a finished action in the past. Use the preterite with ayer.
- Wrong: Treating disimular and ocultar as identical in every context. — Right: Disimular means to hide, to conceal, while ocultar means to hide something. — They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: disimular fits sentences such as Disimulo su nerviosismo en la entrevista, while ocultar belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
- Wrong: Yo soy disimulado la risa durante la clase. — Right: Yo he disimulado la risa durante la clase. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he disimulado, has disimulado, ha disimulado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
- Wrong: De niño, yo disimulé el error ante el jefe todos los días. — Right: De niño, yo disimulaba el error ante el jefe todos los días. — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (disimulaba), not the preterite. The preterite (disimulé) is for one finished action.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on disimular. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
Complete the sentence: Yo ___ su nerviosismo en la entrevista. (present tense) A. disimulo B. disimulas C. disimula D. disimulamos
Complete the sentence: Ayer, él ___ la risa durante la clase. (preterite) A. disimulé B. disimulaste C. disimularon D. disimuló
Complete the sentence: Antes, nosotros ___ el error ante el jefe. (imperfect) A. disimulabas B. disimulaban C. disimulábamos D. disimulaba
Complete the sentence: Mañana, tú ___ su sorpresa al ver el regalo. (future) A. disimularemos B. disimularás C. disimularé D. disimulará
Complete the sentence: Yo ___ su nerviosismo en la entrevista si pudiera. (conditional) A. disimularía B. disimularías C. disimularían D. disimulo
Complete the sentence: Espero que él ___ la risa durante la clase. (present subjunctive) A. disimules B. disimulemos C. disimulo D. disimule
Complete the sentence: Si yo ___ el error ante el jefe, todo cambiaría. (imperfect subjunctive, -ra form) A. disimuláramos B. disimulo C. disimulara D. disimularas
Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ su sorpresa al ver el regalo. (present perfect) A. han disimulado B. hemos disimulado C. he disimulado D. has disimulado
Complete the command: ¡___ su nerviosismo en la entrevista! (affirmative imperative, tú) A. disimula B. disimule C. disimulemos D. disimulad
Which is the gerund of disimular, used with estar for the progressive? A. disimulado B. disimulo C. disimulé D. disimulando
Answer key
- disimulo — The first-person present of disimular is disimulo. The other options are the tú, él/ella and nosotros forms.
- disimuló — The third-person preterite of disimular is disimuló, the form for a single finished action in the past.
- disimulábamos — The nosotros imperfect of disimular is disimulábamos, used here for a repeated past habit.
- disimularás — The second-person future of disimular is disimularás.
- disimularía — The first-person conditional of disimular is disimularía, the form for what would happen.
- disimule — After espero que, the subjunctive is required: the third-person present subjunctive of disimular is disimule.
- disimulara — The first-person imperfect subjunctive (-ra) of disimular is disimulara.
- hemos disimulado — The nosotros present perfect of disimular is hemos disimulado: hemos + disimulado.
- disimula — The affirmative tú imperative of disimular is disimula.
- disimulando — The gerund of disimular is disimulando: estoy disimulando. The participle disimulado is used with haber instead.
Frequently asked questions
What does disimular mean in English?
Disimular means to hide, to conceal. It is used in everyday situations such as Disimulo su nerviosismo en la entrevista. The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.
Is disimular regular or irregular?
Disimular 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 disimulo in the present and disimulé in the preterite.
What is the difference between disimular and ocultar?
Disimular means to hide, to conceal, while ocultar means to hide something. They are easy to confuse because they appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use disimular when you mean to hide, to conceal, as in Disimulo su nerviosismo en la entrevista, and use ocultar for to hide something. When in doubt, check the object of the sentence — it usually shows which verb fits.
How do I say “I hide” in the past?
It depends on the kind of past. For one finished action, use the preterite: yo disimulé la risa durante la clase. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: yo disimulaba el error ante el jefe. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: yo he disimulado la risa durante la clase.
How do I practise disimular?
Start with the present tense table, then drill the preterite and the imperfect, since those two past tenses cause the most mistakes. Try the disimular examples and quiz page for more sentences, and use the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure.
Related links
- Disimular in the present tense — the full present-tense table for disimular.
- Disimular examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice for disimular.
- Spanish verbs — the Spanish hub, with every verb and tense guide.
- Dialogar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with disimular.
- Descifrar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with disimular.
- Derivar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with disimular.
- Spanish Verb Conjugator — conjugate any Spanish verb in every tense.
- Spanish Verb Quiz — test yourself on real conjugated forms.