Herir Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Spanish

herir means "to wound, to hurt" in English, and this page shows you how it actually sounds in everyday Spanish — not just the conjugation table, but the verb in real sentences, in short dialogues, and in the mistakes learners make with it. Herir means to wound someone physically, or to hurt their feelings: herir a un soldado, herir los sentimientos. The stem changes e to ie in the present and e to i in the preterite third person and the gerund. Below you will find twelve example sentences grouped by use, two short dialogues, the most common mistakes with corrections, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. If you want the full tables first, start with the full conjugation of herir; if you want to study one tense in depth, see the herir present tense page.

herir in everyday use: examples with translations

Everyday present uses

How the verb sounds in the present, the future and in hypotheticals — the forms you will use most often.

  1. Yo hiero a su amigo con sus palabras — "I hurt his friend with his words"
  2. Mi amigo hiere el orgullo de su hermano — "My friend hurts his brother's pride"
  3. Mañana, tú herirás a un soldado en la batalla — "Tomorrow, you will hurt a soldier in battle"
  4. Yo heriría los sentimientos de su novia si pudiera — "I would hurt his girlfriend's feelings if I could"

Talking about the past

The same verb in the past: one finished action, a habit, something that has just happened, and something that had already happened.

  1. Ayer, yo herí a su amigo con sus palabras — "Yesterday, I hurt his friend with his words"
  2. Antes, nosotros heríamos el orgullo de su hermano — "Before, we used to hurt his brother's pride"
  3. Él ha herido a un soldado en la batalla — "He has hurt a soldier in battle"
  4. Yo ya había herido los sentimientos de su novia antes de salir — "I already had hurt his girlfriend's feelings before leaving"

Wishes, conditions and commands

The verb after espero que, in si clauses, as a command — and in the conditional perfect, for what would have happened.

  1. Espero que él hiera a su amigo con sus palabras — "I hope he hurts his friend with his words"
  2. Si yo hiriera el orgullo de su hermano, todo cambiaría — "If I hurt his brother's pride, everything would change"
  3. Hiere a un soldado en la batalla. — "Hurt a soldier in battle."
  4. Yo habría herido los sentimientos de su novia con más tiempo — "I would have hurt his girlfriend's feelings with more time"

herir in conversation

Two short dialogues that use herir the way people really speak it. Notice how the verb changes with the person, and how the same verb fits different situations.

Two friends talk about it.

  • Lucía: Hola, ¿qué tal? — "Hello, how are you?"
  • Lucía: Yo hiero a su amigo con sus palabras — "I hurt his friend with his words"
  • Marcos: Él hiere el orgullo de su hermano — "He hurts his brother's pride"
  • Lucía: Ayer, yo herí a un soldado en la batalla — "Yesterday, I hurt a soldier in battle"
  • Marcos: Mañana, tú herirás los sentimientos de su novia — "Tomorrow, you will hurt his girlfriend's feelings"

A practical exchange.

  • Marcos: Hola, ¿qué tal? — "Hello, how are you?"
  • Marcos: Hiere a un peatón en el accidente. — "Hurt a pedestrian in the accident."
  • Lucía: Él ha herido a su amigo con sus palabras — "He has hurt his friend with his words"
  • Marcos: Espero que él hiera el orgullo de su hermano — "I hope he hurts his brother's pride"
  • Lucía: Antes, yo hería a un soldado en la batalla — "Before, I used to hurt a soldier in battle"

Common mistakes with herir

The errors learners actually make with herir, each with the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.

✗ *Yo hero los sentimientos de su novia.

✓ Correct: Yo hiero los sentimientos de su novia.

herir is a stem-changing verb (e → ie): the stem vowel changes in the stressed present forms, so the yo form is hiero, not hero.

✗ *Espero que él hiere los sentimientos de su novia

✓ Correct: Espero que él hiera los sentimientos de su novia

After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: Espero que él hiera los sentimientos de su novia — not the indicative Espero que él hiere los sentimientos de su novia.

✗ *Ayer, yo hiero a un peatón en el accidente

✓ Correct: Ayer, yo herí a un peatón en el accidente

Ayer points to a finished action in the past, so it needs the preterite: Ayer, yo herí a un peatón en el accidente.

✗ *De niño, yo herí a su amigo con sus palabras todos los días

✓ Correct: De niño, yo hería a su amigo con sus palabras todos los días

For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect, not the preterite: De niño, yo hería a su amigo con sus palabras todos los días.

✗ *Yo hiero un soldado en la batalla.

✓ Correct: Yo hiero a un soldado en la batalla.

herir takes a before this complement: Yo hiero a un soldado en la batalla. Dropping the preposition is a common learner error.

Quiz: herir in use

Ten questions on herir — its forms, its tenses and its everyday use. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below, where every answer is explained.

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ a su amigo con sus palabras — "I hurt his friend with his words" (present) A. herimos B. hiero C. hieres D. hiere

  2. Complete the sentence: Ayer, yo ______ el orgullo de su hermano — "Yesterday, I hurt his brother's pride" (preterite) A. herimos B. herí C. heriste D. hirió

  3. Complete the sentence: Antes, nosotros ______ a un soldado en la batalla — "Before, we used to hurt a soldier in battle" (imperfect) A. heríamos B. hería C. herías D. heríais

  4. Complete the sentence: Mañana, tú ______ los sentimientos de su novia — "Tomorrow, you will hurt his girlfriend's feelings" (future) A. herirás B. heriré C. herirá D. heriremos

  5. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ a un peatón en el accidente — "I would hurt a pedestrian in the accident" (conditional) A. herirías B. heriríamos C. heriríais D. heriría

  6. Complete the sentence: Él ______ a su amigo con sus palabras — "He has hurt his friend with his words" (present perfect) A. he herido B. has herido C. hemos herido D. ha herido

  7. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ______ el orgullo de su hermano — "I hope he hurts his brother's pride" (present subjunctive) A. hieras B. hiramos C. hiráis D. hiera

  8. Complete the sentence: ______ a un soldado en la batalla. — "Hurt a soldier in battle." (affirmative imperative) A. hiere B. hiera C. hiramos D. herid

  9. Which is the gerund of herir, used with estar for the progressive? A. hiriendo B. herido C. hiero D. herí

  10. What does herir mean in English? A. to enjoy B. to cross C. to wound D. to hurt, to ache

Answer key

  1. hiero — The present form for yo is hiero.
  2. herí — The preterite form for yo is herí.
  3. heríamos — The imperfect form for nosotros/as is heríamos.
  4. herirás — The future form for tú is herirás.
  5. heriría — The conditional form for yo is heriría.
  6. ha herido — The present perfect form for él/ella/Ud. is ha herido.
  7. hiera — The present subjunctive form for él/ella/Ud. is hiera.
  8. hiere — The affirmative imperative form is hiere.
  9. hiriendo — The gerund of herir is hiriendo: estoy hiriendo. The participle herido is used with haber instead.
  10. to wound — herir means to wound.

Frequently asked questions

What does herir mean in English?

herir means to wound, to hurt. For example: Yo hiero a su amigo con sus palabras — "I hurt his friend with his words". The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.

What preposition goes with herir?

herir takes a before this kind of complement, as in the examples above. Keep the preposition with the verb — dropping it is one of the most common learner errors with herir.

Is herir regular?

No. herir is a stem-changing -ir verb (e → ie). The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: hiero, hieres, hiere and hieren — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: herimos, herís. In the preterite the third-person forms change too: hirió, hirieron, and the gerund is hiriendo.

How do I practise herir?

Start with the present tense table on the full conjugation page, then drill the preterite and the imperfect, since those two past tenses cause the most mistakes. Try the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure, and come back to the sentences above until you can say them without looking.

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