Herir Conjugation in Spanish

The Spanish verb herir means to wound, to hurt, and it is a verb you will use again and again once you know 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. Like every Spanish verb, herir 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 Yo hiero a su amigo con sus palabras — "I hurt his friend with his words". 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.

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.

Quick facts

  • Infinitive: herir
  • English: to wound, to hurt
  • Verb type: stem-changing -ir verb (e → ie)
  • Ending: -ir
  • Gerund: hiriendo
  • Past participle: herido
  • Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + herido)

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

Full conjugation tables

Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for herir. The imperfect subjunctive is shown in its -ra forms; the -se forms use the same stem.

Present indicative

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | hiero | | tú | hieres | | él/ella/Ud. | hiere | | nosotros/as | herimos | | vosotros/as | herís | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | hieren |

Preterite

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | herí | | tú | heriste | | él/ella/Ud. | hirió | | nosotros/as | herimos | | vosotros/as | heristeis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | hirieron |

Imperfect

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | hería | | tú | herías | | él/ella/Ud. | hería | | nosotros/as | heríamos | | vosotros/as | heríais | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | herían |

Future

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | heriré | | tú | herirás | | él/ella/Ud. | herirá | | nosotros/as | heriremos | | vosotros/as | heriréis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | herirán |

Conditional

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | heriría | | tú | herirías | | él/ella/Ud. | heriría | | nosotros/as | heriríamos | | vosotros/as | heriríais | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | herirían |

Present perfect

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | he herido | | tú | has herido | | él/ella/Ud. | ha herido | | nosotros/as | hemos herido | | vosotros/as | habéis herido | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | han herido |

Pluperfect

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | había herido | | tú | habías herido | | él/ella/Ud. | había herido | | nosotros/as | habíamos herido | | vosotros/as | habíais herido | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían herido |

Future perfect

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | habré herido | | tú | habrás herido | | él/ella/Ud. | habrá herido | | nosotros/as | habremos herido | | vosotros/as | habréis herido | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán herido |

Conditional perfect

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | habría herido | | tú | habrías herido | | él/ella/Ud. | habría herido | | nosotros/as | habríamos herido | | vosotros/as | habríais herido | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían herido |

Present subjunctive

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | hiera | | tú | hieras | | él/ella/Ud. | hiera | | nosotros/as | hiramos | | vosotros/as | hiráis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | hieran |

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | hiriera | | tú | hirieras | | él/ella/Ud. | hiriera | | nosotros/as | hiriéramos | | vosotros/as | hirierais | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | hirieran |

Imperative (affirmative)

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | tú | hiere | | él/ella/Ud. | hiera | | nosotros/as | hiramos | | vosotros/as | herid | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | hieran |

Imperative (negative)

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | tú | hieras | | él/ella/Ud. | hiera | | nosotros/as | hiramos | | vosotros/as | hiráis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | hieran |

Gerund and past participle

Form Spanish Use
Gerund hiriendo with estar for the progressive: está hiriendo
Past participle herido with haber for the perfect tenses: he herido

How to use each tense

Present indicative

Use the present for routines, general facts and what is happening right now. 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. For herir, the present indicative looks like this in a real sentence: Yo hiero a su amigo con sus palabras — "I hurt his friend with his words".

Preterite

Use the preterite for finished actions with a clear end, often with ayer, el año pasado or anoche. In this tense the stem changes in the third person: hirió, hirieron. The gerund changes too: hiriendo. For herir, the preterite looks like this in a real sentence: Ayer, yo herí el orgullo de su hermano — "Yesterday, I hurt his brother's pride".

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 herir, the imperfect looks like this in a real sentence: De niño, yo hería a un soldado en la batalla — "As a child, I used to hurt a soldier in battle".

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 herir, the future looks like this in a real sentence: Mañana, yo heriré los sentimientos de su novia — "Tomorrow, I will hurt his girlfriend's feelings".

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 herir, the conditional looks like this in a real sentence: Yo heriría a su amigo con sus palabras si pudiera — "I would hurt his friend with his words if I could".

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 herir, the present perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Hoy, yo he herido el orgullo de su hermano — "Today, I have hurt his brother's pride".

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 herir, the pluperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo ya había herido a un soldado en la batalla antes de salir — "I already had hurt a soldier in battle before leaving".

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 herir, the future perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Para mañana, yo habré herido los sentimientos de su novia — "By tomorrow, I will have hurt his girlfriend's feelings".

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 herir, the conditional perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo habría herido a su amigo con sus palabras con más tiempo — "I would have hurt his friend with his words with more time".

Present subjunctive

Use the present subjunctive after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion and hope, such as espero que or quiero que. 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. For herir, the present subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Espero que él hiera el orgullo de su hermano — "I hope he hurts his brother's pride".

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)

Use the imperfect subjunctive after past wishes and in si clauses about the past. The -ra forms are shown here; the -se forms use the same stem. For this verb the tense is irregular — see the table above. For herir, the imperfect subjunctive (-ra) looks like this in a real sentence: Si yo hiriera a un soldado en la batalla, todo cambiaría — "If I hurt a soldier in battle, everything would change".

Imperative (affirmative)

Use the affirmative imperative for direct commands, instructions and invitations. 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. For herir, the imperative (affirmative) looks like this in a real sentence: Hiere los sentimientos de su novia. — "Hurt his girlfriend's feelings.".

Imperative (negative)

Use the negative imperative, always with no, to tell someone not to do something. 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. For herir, the imperative (negative) looks like this in a real sentence: No hieras a su amigo con sus palabras. — "Do not hurt his friend with his words.".

Example sentences

Ten natural sentences with herir, covering different tenses and persons. Each one uses a form from the tables above.

  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. Ayer, yo herí a un soldado en la batalla — "Yesterday, I hurt a soldier in battle"
  4. Antes, nosotros heríamos los sentimientos de su novia — "Before, we used to hurt his girlfriend's feelings"
  5. Mañana, tú herirás a un peatón en el accidente — "Tomorrow, you will hurt a pedestrian in the accident"
  6. Yo heriría a su amigo con sus palabras si tuviera más tiempo — "I would hurt his friend with his words if I had more time"
  7. Él ha herido el orgullo de su hermano — "He has hurt his brother's pride"
  8. Espero que él hiera a un soldado en la batalla — "I hope he hurts a soldier in battle"
  9. Yo ya había herido los sentimientos de su novia antes de salir — "I already had hurt his girlfriend's feelings before leaving"
  10. Ellos herían a un peatón en el accidente cuando eran jóvenes — "They used to hurt a pedestrian in the accident when they were young"

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo hero el orgullo de su hermano. — Right: Yo hiero el orgullo de su hermano. — 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.
  2. Wrong: Espero que él hiere el orgullo de su hermano — Right: Espero que él hiera el orgullo de su hermano — After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: Espero que él hiera el orgullo de su hermano — not the indicative Espero que él hiere el orgullo de su hermano.
  3. Wrong: Ayer, yo hiero a un soldado en la batalla — Right: Ayer, yo herí a un soldado en la batalla — Ayer points to a finished action in the past, so it needs the preterite: Ayer, yo herí a un soldado en la batalla.
  4. Wrong: De niño, yo herí los sentimientos de su novia todos los días — Right: De niño, yo hería los sentimientos de su novia todos los días — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect, not the preterite: De niño, yo hería los sentimientos de su novia todos los días.
  5. Wrong: Yo hiero su amigo con sus palabras. — Right: Yo hiero a su amigo con sus palabras. — herir takes a before this complement: Yo hiero a su amigo con sus palabras. Dropping the preposition is a common learner error.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on herir. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.

  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: Él ______ el orgullo de su hermano — "He hurt his brother's pride" (preterite) A. herí B. heriste C. herimos D. hirió

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

  4. Complete the sentence: Tú ______ los sentimientos de su novia — "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: Espero que él ______ a su amigo con sus palabras — "I hope he hurts his friend with his words" (present subjunctive) A. hiráis B. hiera C. hieras D. hiramos

  7. Complete the sentence: Si yo ______ el orgullo de su hermano, todo cambiaría — "If I hurt his brother's pride, everything would change" (imperfect subjunctive) A. hirieras B. hiriéramos C. hirierais D. hiriera

  8. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ______ a un soldado en la batalla — "We have hurt a soldier in battle" (present perfect) A. he herido B. has herido C. ha herido D. hemos herido

  9. Complete the sentence: No ______ los sentimientos de su novia. — "Do not hurt his girlfriend's feelings." (negative imperative) A. hieras B. hiera C. hiramos D. hiráis

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

Answer key

  1. hiero — The present form for yo is hiero.
  2. hirió — The preterite form for él/ella/Ud. is hirió.
  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. hiera — The present subjunctive form for él/ella/Ud. is hiera.
  7. hiriera — The imperfect subjunctive form for yo is hiriera.
  8. hemos herido — The present perfect form for nosotros/as is hemos herido.
  9. hieras — The negative imperative form is hieras.
  10. hiriendo — The gerund of herir is hiriendo: estoy hiriendo. The participle herido is used with haber instead.

Frequently asked questions

What does herir mean in English?

herir means to wound, to hurt. It is used in everyday situations such as 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.

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. The nosotros and vosotros forms keep the plain stem, which is the part learners most often get right by accident.

What is the gerund and the past participle of herir?

The gerund is hiriendo and the past participle is herido. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.

How do I say "I hurt" in the past?

It depends on the kind of past. For one finished action, use the preterite: Ayer, yo herí el orgullo de su hermano — "Yesterday, I hurt his brother's pride". For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: De niño, yo hería a un soldado en la batalla — "As a child, I used to hurt a soldier in battle". For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Hoy, yo he herido el orgullo de su hermano — "Today, I have hurt his brother's pride".

What is the difference between herir and doler?

Doler describes pain you feel: me duele la cabeza. Herir is the act of wounding someone or hurting their feelings. 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.

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