Lastimarse Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Spanish
lastimarse means "to hurt oneself" in English, and this page shows it in everyday use: real example sentences in several tenses, two short dialogues, the mistakes learners actually make, and a quiz to test yourself. You will see lastimarse with his finger with the knife, his knee in the park, his hand in the door and his foot on a stone — the situations where Spanish speakers really use it. A good first sentence to learn is: Cada día, yo me lastimo el dedo con el cuchillo. — "Every day, I hurt oneself his finger with the knife." Read the examples aloud, notice which tense each one uses, and then try the dialogues and the quiz.
lastimarse in everyday sentences
Twelve sentences with lastimarse, grouped by situation. Each one shows the verb in a different tense or person, with its English translation and a note on when to use that form.
Everyday use
- Cada día, yo me lastimo el dedo con el cuchillo. — "Every day, I hurt oneself his finger with the knife." The present tense fits a habit here.
- Ayer, yo me lastimé la rodilla en el parque. — "Yesterday, I hurt oneself his knee in the park." The preterite fits one finished action.
- Antes, yo me lastimaba la mano en la puerta. — "In the past, I used to hurt oneself his hand in the door." The imperfect fits a repeated action in the past.
- Mañana, nosotros nos lastimaremos el pie con una piedra. — "Tomorrow, we will hurt oneself his foot on a stone." The future tense fits a plan for tomorrow.
- Si pudieras, tú te lastimarías el dedo con el cuchillo. — "If you could, you would hurt oneself his finger with the knife." The conditional fits something that would happen.
- Yo me he lastimado la rodilla en el parque. — "I have hurt oneself his knee in the park." The present perfect fits an action with present relevance.
More situations
- Normalmente, él se lastima la mano en la puerta. — "Normally, he/she hurts oneself his hand in the door." The present tense fits a general truth here.
- Ayer, él se lastimó el pie con una piedra. — "Yesterday, he/she hurt oneself his foot on a stone." The preterite fits one finished action.
- Antes, nosotros nos lastimábamos el dedo con el cuchillo. — "In the past, we used to hurt oneself his finger with the knife." The imperfect fits a repeated action in the past.
- Mañana, yo me lastimaré la rodilla en el parque. — "Tomorrow, I will hurt oneself his knee in the park." The future tense fits a plan for tomorrow.
- Espero que él se lastime la mano en la puerta. — "I hope that he/she hurts oneself his hand in the door." The present subjunctive follows espero que.
- ¡No te lastimes el pie con una piedra! — "Do not hurt oneself his foot on a stone!" The imperative fits a direct order or request.
The verb in context
Two short dialogues using lastimarse naturally. Notice how the verb changes person and tense as the conversation moves, and how the complements stay the same kind of situation: his finger with the knife, his knee in the park, his hand in the door and his foot on a stone.
Dialogue 1: talking about his finger with the knife
Ana: ¿Tú te lastimas el dedo con el cuchillo? — "Do you hurt oneself his finger with the knife?" Luis: Sí, yo me lastimo el dedo con el cuchillo. — "I hurt oneself his finger with the knife." Ana: ¿Y ayer? — "And yesterday?" Luis: Ayer, yo me lastimé la rodilla en el parque. — "Yesterday, I hurt oneself his knee in the park." Ana: Mañana, nosotros nos lastimaremos la mano en la puerta. — "Tomorrow, we will hurt oneself his hand in the door." Luis: Si pudiera, yo me lastimaría el pie con una piedra. — "If I could, I would hurt oneself his foot on a stone." Ana: Antes, yo me lastimaba la rodilla en el parque. — "In the past, I used to hurt oneself his knee in the park." Luis: Yo me he lastimado el dedo con el cuchillo. — "I have hurt oneself his finger with the knife." Ana: ¡No te lastimes la mano en la puerta! — "Do not hurt oneself his hand in the door!"
In this dialogue lastimarse appears in the present, the preterite, the imperfect, the future, the conditional and the present perfect. That is the point: one verb, many tenses, and the complement tells you which situation you are in. Try the same dialogue with your own complements.
Dialogue 2: talking about his hand in the door
Ana: Él se lastima la mano en la puerta. — "he/she hurts oneself his hand in the door." Luis: ¿De verdad? ¿Él se lastima la mano en la puerta todos los días? — "Really? Does he/she hurts oneself his hand in the door every day?" Ana: Sí, y ellos se lastiman el pie con una piedra. — "they hurt oneself his foot on a stone." Luis: Ayer, ellos se lastimaron la mano en la puerta. — "Yesterday, they hurt oneself his hand in the door." Ana: Espero que él se lastime el pie con una piedra. — "I hope that he/she hurts oneself his foot on a stone." Luis: Mañana, él se lastimará la mano en la puerta. — "Tomorrow, he/she will hurt oneself his hand in the door." Ana: Antes, nosotros nos lastimábamos el pie con una piedra. — "In the past, we used to hurt oneself his foot on a stone." Luis: Nosotros nos lastimamos el dedo con el cuchillo también. — "we hurt oneself his finger with the knife too."
This dialogue shows lastimarse in the third person and in the plural, which is where learners most often hesitate. Read it aloud with a partner, swapping the names and the complements for your own life, and the forms will start to feel automatic.
Common mistakes with lastimarse
The errors learners actually make with lastimarse in everyday use, each with the wrong form, the right form, and why it is wrong.
Mistake 1: Forgetting the reflexive pronoun
- Wrong: Yo lastimo el dedo con el cuchillo.
- Right: Yo me lastimo el dedo con el cuchillo.
- Why: lastimarse is reflexive, so the pronoun is part of the verb: Yo me lastimo el dedo con el cuchillo.. Without me the sentence is incomplete.
Mistake 2: Using the infinitive as a conjugated form
- Wrong: Yo lastimarse el dedo con el cuchillo.
- Right: Yo me lastimo el dedo con el cuchillo.
- Why: The infinitive lastimarse is the dictionary form, not a conjugated form. In a sentence with yo you need the present-tense form lastimo.
Mistake 3: Using the present tense for yesterday
- Wrong: Ayer, yo me lastimo la rodilla en el parque.
- Right: Ayer, yo me lastimé la rodilla en el parque.
- Why: Ayer means yesterday, so the action is finished and needs the preterite: Ayer, yo me lastimé la rodilla en el parque. — "Yesterday, I hurt oneself his knee in the park."
Mistake 4: Mixing up the gerund and the participle
- Wrong: Me estoy lastimado la mano en la puerta.
- Right: Me estoy lastimando la mano en la puerta.
- Why: After estar you need the gerund lastimando for the progressive. The participle lastimado goes with haber in the perfect tenses (me he lastimado), never after estar.
Mistake 5: Confusing lastimarse with lastimar
- Wrong: Yo lastimo el dedo con el cuchillo.
- Right: Yo me lastimo el dedo con el cuchillo.
- Why: lastimarse (to hurt oneself) and lastimar are partners, not the same verb. Use the reflexive pronoun when the action comes back to the subject.
Quiz: lastimarse in use
Test yourself with ten questions on lastimarse. The answers are explained, so read them even when you get a question right.
1. What is the yo form of lastimarse in the present tense?
- (a) lastimas
- (b) lastima
- (c) lastimamos
- (d) lastimo
Answer: (d) lastimo. The yo form is lastimo.
2. What is the tú form of lastimarse in the present tense?
- (a) lastima
- (b) lastimamos
- (c) lastimas
- (d) lastimo
Answer: (c) lastimas. The tú form is lastimas.
3. What is the él/ella form of lastimarse in the present tense?
- (a) lastimamos
- (b) lastima
- (c) lastimo
- (d) lastimas
Answer: (b) lastima. The él/ella form is lastima.
4. Complete the sentence: Cada día, yo ___ el dedo con el cuchillo.
- (a) lastimo
- (b) lastimas
- (c) lastima
- (d) lastimamos
Answer: (a) lastimo. The sentence needs the yo form lastimo.
5. Complete the sentence: Ayer, yo ___ la rodilla en el parque.
- (a) lastimaste
- (b) lastimó
- (c) lastimamos
- (d) lastimé
Answer: (d) lastimé. Ayer needs the preterite, and the yo form is lastimé.
6. Complete the sentence: Antes, yo ___ la mano en la puerta.
- (a) lastimábamos
- (b) lastimabais
- (c) lastimaba
- (d) lastimabas
Answer: (c) lastimaba. Antes needs the imperfect, and the yo form is lastimaba.
7. Complete the sentence: Mañana, yo ___ el pie con una piedra.
- (a) lastimaremos
- (b) lastimaré
- (c) lastimarás
- (d) lastimará
Answer: (b) lastimaré. Mañana needs the future, and the yo form is lastimaré.
8. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ el dedo con el cuchillo.
- (a) nos hemos lastimado
- (b) me he lastimado
- (c) te has lastimado
- (d) se ha lastimado
Answer: (b) me he lastimado. The present perfect uses haber plus the participle: me he lastimado.
9. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ___ la mano en la puerta.
- (a) lastimes
- (b) lastimemos
- (c) lastiméis
- (d) lastime
Answer: (d) lastime. After espero que Spanish needs the subjunctive, and the él form is lastime.
10. What does lastimarse mean in English?
- (a) to get lost
- (b) to get up early
- (c) to mistreat
- (d) to hurt oneself
Answer: (d) to hurt oneself. lastimarse means "to hurt oneself" in English.
Frequently asked questions about lastimarse
What does lastimarse mean?
lastimarse means "to hurt oneself" in English. Use it when you talk about his finger with the knife, his knee in the park, his hand in the door and his foot on a stone — for example: Cada día, yo me lastimo el dedo con el cuchillo. — "Every day, I hurt oneself his finger with the knife."
Is lastimarse reflexive?
Yes. lastimarse is reflexive, so it always travels with a pronoun: me, te, se, nos, os, se. Cada día, yo me lastimo el dedo con el cuchillo. — "Every day, I hurt oneself his finger with the knife." If you drop the pronoun, the sentence is incomplete.
What is the most common mistake with lastimarse?
Forgetting the reflexive pronoun. Learners write the bare form — for example, Yo lastimo el dedo con el cuchillo — when the verb needs its pronoun: Cada día, yo me lastimo el dedo con el cuchillo. — "Every day, I hurt oneself his finger with the knife." Keep the pronoun with the verb and the mistake disappears.
How can I practise lastimarse?
Take the quiz above, then make your own sentences: change the person in each example, change the complement to something from your own life, and say the sentence aloud. The verb quiz and the verb translator on this site give you more practice with the same forms.