Herirse Examples, Sentences and Quiz
Herirse means “to hurt oneself”, and it is one of the verbs you will use every day in Spanish. Herirse means to hurt yourself, and it is used for injuring yourself in an accident, in sport or at work. It is a stem-changing verb, e to ie in the present and e to i in the preterite third person and the gerund, so it rewards careful study. This page shows herirse 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 present-tense form unless the sentence is clearly marked as past or future. For a first taste: “Yo me hiero en el accidente de coche.” — I hurt myself in the car accident.
Herirse in real example sentences
The twelve sentences below are grouped by how herirse 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 herirse in the present tense, which is how you will meet it most often: routines, facts, and things happening now.
“Me hiero en el accidente de coche.” — I hurt myself in the car accident.
“¿Tú te hieres al caer de la bicicleta?” — Do you hurt yourself on falling off the bicycle?
“Se hiere en el partido del sábado.” — He/she hurts himself in Saturday's match.
“Nos herimos con el cuchillo en la cocina.” — We hurt ourselves with the knife in the kitchen.
Talking about the past
The present is not the only tense you need. These sentences show herirse in the past, so you can talk about what already happened.
“Ayer, yo me herí en el accidente de coche.” — Yesterday, I hurt myself in the car accident. (preterite)
“Él se hería al caer de la bicicleta todos los días.” — He used to hurt himself on falling off the bicycle every day. (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 herirse stays the same.
“Nosotros nos heriremos en el partido del sábado mañana.” — We will hurt ourselves in Saturday's match tomorrow. (future)
“¿Te has herido con el cuchillo en la cocina?” — Have you hurt yourself with the knife in the kitchen? (present perfect)
More everyday uses
Four more present-tense sentences, covering the remaining persons, so you can see the whole table in action.
“Os herís en el accidente de coche.” — You hurt yourselves in the car accident.
“Se hieren al caer de la bicicleta.” — They hurt themselves on falling off the bicycle.
“Me hiero en el partido del sábado.” — I hurt myself in Saturday's match.
“Se hiere con el cuchillo en la cocina.” — He/she hurts himself with the knife in the kitchen.
Herirse 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 herirse appears naturally, without anyone stopping to think about conjugation.
A short dialogue
Lucía: “¿Tú te hieres en el accidente de coche?” — Do you hurt yourself in the car accident?
Carlos: “Sí, yo me hiero en el accidente de coche.” — Yes, I hurt myself in the car accident.
Lucía: “Nosotros nos herimos al caer de la bicicleta.” — We hurt ourselves on falling off the bicycle.
Carlos: “Y ellos se hieren en el partido del sábado.” — And they hurt themselves in Saturday's match.
Lucía: “Vosotros os herís con el cuchillo en la cocina.” — You hurt yourselves with the knife in the kitchen.
Carlos: “Sí, y él se hiere al caer de la bicicleta.” — Yes, and he hurts himself on falling off the bicycle.
A short paragraph
Lucía se hiere en el accidente de coche, y Carlos se hiere al caer de la bicicleta. Nosotros nos herimos en el partido del sábado, y ellos se hieren con el cuchillo en la cocina. Yo me hiero en el partido del sábado, y mi padre se hiere con el cuchillo en la cocina. Herirse is part of everyday life, because to hurt oneself is something Spanish speakers do again and again, in every tense and every situation.
Common mistakes with herirse
These are the errors learners actually make with herirse. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why the correction matters.
Wrong: “Yo hiero en el accidente de coche.” Right: “Yo me hiero en el accidente de coche.” Why: Herirse is reflexive, so the pronoun me is required: without it the verb means something else, or nothing at all.
Wrong: “Yo hero al caer de la bicicleta.” Right: “Yo hiero al caer de la bicicleta.” Why: Herirse is a stem-changing verb (e → ie), so the stem changes in the present singular and third-person plural. The nosotros form keeps the original stem.
Wrong: “Treating herirse and cortarse as identical in every context.” Right: “Herirse means to hurt oneself, while cortarse means to cut oneself.” Why: They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: herirse fits sentences such as Me hiero en el accidente de coche, while cortarse belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
Wrong: “Yo soy herido al caer de la bicicleta.” Right: “Yo he herido al caer de la bicicleta.” Why: Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he herido, has herido, ha herido. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
Wrong: “De niño, yo herí en el partido del sábado todos los días.” Right: “De niño, yo hería en el partido del sábado todos los días.” Why: For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (hería), not the preterite. The preterite (herí) is for one finished action.
Quiz: herirse in use
Ten questions on herirse in real sentences. Choose the correct answer for each one, then check the answer key. Every answer is explained.
1. Complete the sentence: “Vosotros ______ en el accidente de coche.” (In the car accident.)
- (a) os herís
- (b) me hiero
- (c) te hieres
Answer: os herís — The vosotros/as form of herirse in the present is os herís.
2. Complete the sentence: “Ellos ______ al caer de la bicicleta.” (On falling off the bicycle.)
- (a) me hiero
- (b) te hieres
- (c) se hieren
Answer: se hieren — The ellos/ellas/Uds. form of herirse in the present is se hieren.
3. Complete the sentence: “Yo ______ en el accidente de coche.” (In the car accident.)
- (a) se hirió
- (b) me herí
- (c) te heriste
Answer: me herí — The yo form of herirse in the preterite is me herí.
4. Complete the sentence: “Él ______ al caer de la bicicleta.” (On falling off the bicycle.)
- (a) se hería
- (b) me hería
- (c) te herías
Answer: se hería — The él/ella/Ud. form of herirse in the imperfect is se hería.
5. Complete the sentence: “Nosotros ______ en el partido del sábado.” (In saturday's match.)
- (a) me heriré
- (b) te herirás
- (c) nos heriremos
Answer: nos heriremos — The nosotros/as form of herirse in the future is nos heriremos.
6. What does herirse mean in English?
- (a) to feel
- (b) to hurt oneself
- (c) to cut oneself
Answer: to hurt oneself — Herirse means “to hurt oneself”. The other options are the meanings of different verbs.
7. Which sentence is correct?
- (a) Yo me hiero en el accidente de coche.
- (b) Ellos hiere en el accidente de coche.
- (c) Yo me hiero al caer de la bicicleta ayer.
Answer: Yo me hiero en el accidente de coche. — “Yo me hiero en el accidente de coche.” is correct. The other two sentences contain the mistakes explained in the section above.
8. How do you say “I hurt myself in the car accident.” in Spanish?
- (a) Yo se hieren en el accidente de coche.
- (b) Yo me herí en el accidente de coche.
- (c) Yo me hiero en el accidente de coche.
Answer: Yo me hiero en el accidente de coche. — “Yo me hiero en el accidente de coche.” is the correct translation. The second option uses the wrong person's form, and the third uses the preterite.
9. What is the nosotros form of herirse in the present tense?
- (a) te hieres
- (b) nos herimos
- (c) me hiero
Answer: nos herimos — The nosotros form is nos herimos.
10. Which of these sentences is in the present tense?
- (a) Ayer, yo me herí en el accidente de coche.
- (b) Nosotros nos heriremos en el accidente de coche mañana.
- (c) Yo me hiero en el accidente de coche.
Answer: Yo me hiero en el accidente de coche. — “Yo me hiero en el accidente de coche.” is in the present tense. The other two are in the preterite and the future.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say 'I hurt oneself' in Spanish?
Say 'Yo me hiero en el accidente de coche'. The complement follows directly, as in the examples above. For a routine, add a time expression: 'Yo me hiero en el accidente de coche todos los días'.
How do you say 'I hurt oneself' in the past?
For one finished action, say 'Ayer, yo me herí al caer de la bicicleta'. For a repeated habit, say 'Yo me hería al caer de la bicicleta todos los días'. For something already done, say 'Yo me he herido al caer de la bicicleta'.
What is the difference between herirse and cortarse?
Herirse means to hurt oneself, while cortarse means to cut oneself. They are easy to confuse because they appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use herirse when you mean to hurt oneself, as in Me hiero en el accidente de coche.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of herirse — every tense of herirse in one place.
- Herirse in the present tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Spanish verbs — the hub for every Spanish verb on VerbFlow.
- Verb quiz — test yourself on herirse and other verbs.
- Conjugation practice — drill the forms of herirse until they are automatic.