Esconderse Conjugation in Spanish

Learning to conjugate esconderse — «to hide oneself» — opens up a whole set of sentences you will use every day. It is a regular -er verb, reflexive verb, and this page covers it completely: thirteen tenses, the gerund escondiendo and the past participle escondido, example sentences in every tense, the common mistakes and a quiz with an answer key. A good first sentence to learn is «Me escondo todos los días» — I hide myself every day. Once you can say that, the rest of the table falls into place person by person.

Quick facts

  • Infinitive: esconderse
  • English: to hide oneself
  • Verb type: regular -er verb, reflexive
  • Ending: -er
  • Gerund: escondiendo
  • Past participle: escondido
  • Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + escondido)
  • Reflexive pronouns: me, te, se, nos, os, se — one before every conjugated form, matching the person.

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for esconderse, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

esconderse is reflexive: Me escondo todos los días; te escondes todos los días. Without the pronoun, the verb means doing the action to someone else rather than to yourself, so keep the pronoun with the form.

Full conjugation tables

Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for esconderse. 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.

Gerund: escondiendo · Past participle: escondido

Present Indicative

Person Pronoun Form
yo me escondo
tú te escondes
él/ella/Ud. se esconde
nosotros/as nos escondemos
vosotros/as os escondéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se esconden

The present is the tense you will use most with esconderse. It covers daily routines, permanent facts and actions in progress. Learn the yo form escondo first, then the tú and él forms, which are the ones that change the stem in stem-changing verbs.

Preterite

Person Pronoun Form
yo me escondí
tú te escondiste
él/ella/Ud. se escondió
nosotros/as nos escondimos
vosotros/as os escondisteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se escondieron

The preterite of esconderse reports what happened. «Ayer yo escondí por la tarde» places the action firmly in finished time. It is the tense of stories and reports, not of background description.

Imperfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me escondía
tú te escondías
él/ella/Ud. se escondía
nosotros/as nos escondíamos
vosotros/as os escondíais
ellos/ellas/Uds. se escondían

The imperfect of esconderse paints the background of a past scene: repeated actions, states and descriptions. «Antes, yo escondía todos los días» is the pattern. Pair it with the preterite when one event interrupts another.

Future

Person Pronoun Form
yo me esconderé
tú te esconderás
él/ella/Ud. se esconderá
nosotros/as nos esconderemos
vosotros/as os esconderéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se esconderán

The future of esconderse looks forward: what will happen tomorrow, next week or next year. «Mañana yo esconderé sin falta» is the pattern. Remember that the future can also express probability about the present in Spanish.

Conditional

Person Pronoun Form
yo me escondería
tú te esconderías
él/ella/Ud. se escondería
nosotros/as nos esconderíamos
vosotros/as os esconderíais
ellos/ellas/Uds. se esconderían

The conditional of esconderse is the tense of «would»: what you would do, what would happen, what you would like. «Si pudiera, yo escondería sin dudarlo» shows the pattern. It is built on the infinitive, just like the future.

Present Perfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me he escondido
tú te has escondido
él/ella/Ud. se ha escondido
nosotros/as nos hemos escondido
vosotros/as os habéis escondido
ellos/ellas/Uds. se han escondido

The present perfect of esconderse says «have done»: the action is finished but its result still matters now. «Hoy yo he escondido dos veces» is the pattern. Learn the participle escondido well — every perfect tense depends on it.

Pluperfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me había escondido
tú te habías escondido
él/ella/Ud. se había escondido
nosotros/as nos habíamos escondido
vosotros/as os habíais escondido
ellos/ellas/Uds. se habían escondido

The pluperfect of esconderse steps one event further back than the preterite. «Antes de salir, yo había escondido» is the pattern: first this happened, then the story moved on. It is haber in the imperfect plus escondido.

Future Perfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me habré escondido
tú te habrás escondido
él/ella/Ud. se habrá escondido
nosotros/as nos habremos escondido
vosotros/as os habréis escondido
ellos/ellas/Uds. se habrán escondido

The future perfect of esconderse combines the future of haber with escondido. «Para el viernes, yo habré escondido ya» is the pattern. Use it when the completion matters more than the action itself.

Conditional Perfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me habría escondido
tú te habrías escondido
él/ella/Ud. se habría escondido
nosotros/as nos habríamos escondido
vosotros/as os habríais escondido
ellos/ellas/Uds. se habrían escondido

The conditional perfect of esconderse is the tense of «would have done». «Yo habría escondido si hubiera podido» is the pattern. It is built from haber in the conditional plus escondido.

Present Subjunctive

Person Pronoun Form
yo me esconda
tú te escondas
él/ella/Ud. se esconda
nosotros/as nos escondamos
vosotros/as os escondáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se escondan

The present subjunctive of esconderse is the mood of what is wished, doubted or demanded rather than stated as fact. «Espero que tú escondas» is the pattern. If the trigger is in the past, switch to the imperfect subjunctive instead.

Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra forms)

Person Pronoun Form
yo me escondiera
tú te escondieras
él/ella/Ud. se escondiera
nosotros/as nos escondiéramos
vosotros/as os escondierais
ellos/ellas/Uds. se escondieran

The imperfect subjunctive of esconderse handles the hypothetical past and the polite conditional. «Ojalá yo escondiera más a menudo» is the pattern. The -ra forms in the table are the standard ones; the -se forms use the same stem with -se endings.

Imperative — Affirmative

Person Pronoun Form
tú te esconde
él/ella/Ud. se esconda
nosotros/as nos escondamos
vosotros/as os esconded
ellos/ellas/Uds. se escondan

There is no yo form in the imperative — you cannot command yourself.

In real speech the reflexive pronoun attaches to the end of an affirmative command; the table shows the pronoun and the form separately so you can see both parts.

The affirmative imperative of esconderse is for orders and instructions. «¡esconde, por favor!» is the pattern. Remember there is no yo form in the imperative, and the nosotros form doubles as a suggestion: «¡escondamos!» means «let's do it».

Imperative — Negative

Person Pronoun Form
tú te escondas
él/ella/Ud. se esconda
nosotros/as nos escondamos
vosotros/as os escondáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se escondan

There is no yo form in the imperative — you cannot command yourself.

In real speech the reflexive pronoun attaches to the end of an affirmative command; the table shows the pronoun and the form separately so you can see both parts.

The negative imperative of esconderse is built on the present subjunctive: «¡No escondas!». Learn it as a set with the subjunctive table above, and never follow no with the affirmative command form.

Example sentences

  1. Me escondo todos los días. — I hide myself every day.
  2. Ayer me escondí por la tarde. — Yesterday I hid myself in the afternoon.
  3. Antes, me escondía todos los días. — In the past, I used to hide myself every day.
  4. Mañana me esconderé sin falta. — Tomorrow I will hide myself without fail.
  5. Si tuviera más tiempo, me escondería ahora mismo. — If I had more time, I would hide myself right now.
  6. Hoy me he escondido dos veces. — Today I have hid myself twice.
  7. Espero que te escondas pronto. — I hope You hide yourself soon.
  8. Si me escondiera, todo sería distinto. — If I hid myself, everything would be different.
  9. Ahora mismo me estoy escondiendo. — Right now I am hiding myself.
  10. ¡No te escondas! — Don't hide yourself!

Common mistakes

1. Forgetting the reflexive pronoun

Wrong: yo escondo todos los días.

Right: me escondo todos los días.

esconderse is reflexive: the pronoun me belongs before every conjugated form. Without it, you are using the non-reflexive verb, which means something different — doing the action to someone else instead of to yourself.

2. Using the imperfect for a finished event

Wrong: Ayer me escondía.

Right: Ayer me escondí.

Yesterday's finished action needs the preterite, escondí. The imperfect escondía describes what used to happen or what was going on, not a single completed event.

3. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

Wrong: Espero que te escondes.

Right: Espero que te escondas.

After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: escondas, not the indicative escondes. Wishes, hopes and doubts all trigger this change.

4. Using the affirmative imperative after no

Wrong: No te esconde.

Right: No te escondas.

Negative commands use the subjunctive-based forms: no escondas. The affirmative esconde can never follow no.

5. Confusing the gerund with the past participle

Wrong: He escondiendo.

Right: He escondido.

The perfect tenses use haber plus the past participle: he escondido. The gerund escondiendo goes with estar for actions in progress («Estoy escondiendo»), never with haber.

Quiz

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

1. What is the él/ella/Ud. form of esconderse in the present indicative?

- (a) escondo
- (b) escondes
- (c) esconde
- (d) escondemos

2. What is the nosotros/as form of esconderse in the preterite?

- (a) escondí
- (b) escondiste
- (c) escondió
- (d) escondimos

3. What is the vosotros/as form of esconderse in the imperfect?

- (a) escondía
- (b) escondías
- (c) escondía
- (d) escondíais

4. What is the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of esconderse in the future?

- (a) esconderán
- (b) esconderás
- (c) esconderá
- (d) esconderé

5. What is the yo form of esconderse in the conditional?

- (a) esconderíamos
- (b) escondería
- (c) esconderías
- (d) escondería

6. What is the tú form of esconderse in the present perfect?

- (a) has escondido
- (b) hemos escondido
- (c) ha escondido
- (d) he escondido

7. What is the él/ella/Ud. form of esconderse in the present subjunctive?

- (a) esconda
- (b) esconda
- (c) escondamos
- (d) escondas

8. What is the nosotros/as form of esconderse in the imperfect subjunctive (-ra forms)?

- (a) escondiera
- (b) escondiéramos
- (c) escondiera
- (d) escondieras

9. What is the gerund of esconderse?

- (a) esconderse
- (b) escondido
- (c) escondiendo
- (d) escondo

10. What is the past participle of esconderse?

- (a) escondiendo
- (b) escondido
- (c) escondí
- (d) esconderse

Answer key

1. (c) — In the present indicative, the él/ella/Ud. form of esconderse is esconde. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 2. (d) — In the preterite, the nosotros/as form of esconderse is escondimos. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 3. (d) — In the imperfect, the vosotros/as form of esconderse is escondíais. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 4. (a) — In the future, the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of esconderse is esconderán. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 5. (b) — In the conditional, the yo form of esconderse is escondería. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 6. (a) — In the present perfect, the tú form of esconderse is has escondido. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 7. (a) — In the present subjunctive, the él/ella/Ud. form of esconderse is esconda. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 8. (b) — In the imperfect subjunctive (-ra forms), the nosotros/as form of esconderse is escondiéramos. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 9. (c) — The gerund of esconderse is escondiendo. It is used with estar for the progressive: «Estoy escondiendo». 10. (b) — The past participle of esconderse is escondido. It follows haber in all the perfect tenses: «he escondido».

Frequently asked questions

Is esconderse regular or irregular?

Yes — esconderse is a regular -er verb and reflexive. Learn the endings once and they work in every tense, with the stem escond unchanged throughout.

What are the gerund and past participle of esconderse?

The gerund is escondiendo and the past participle is escondido. Use the gerund with estar for actions in progress («Estoy escondiendo») and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses («he escondido»).

How do I say «I hide myself» in Spanish?

Say «Me escondo todos los días». That is the yo form of the present tense, the form you need for talking about yourself right now.

What is the difference between the preterite and the imperfect of esconderse?

Use the preterite (escondí) for a single finished event and the imperfect (escondía) for habits and background. «Ayer yo escondí» reports something that happened and ended; «Antes, yo escondía» describes what used to happen.

When do I use the subjunctive with esconderse?

Use the subjunctive after wishes, doubts, emotions and impersonal expressions — for example «Espero que tú escondas». The trigger sits in the main clause; once it is there, the subjunctive form is required, not a stylistic choice.

What does the -se in esconderse mean?

The -se marks esconderse as reflexive: the action comes back to the subject. You always pair the form with its pronoun — me, te, se, nos, os, se — placed before the conjugated verb. Dropping the pronoun changes the meaning, so treat the pronoun as part of the verb.

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