Introduction
Odiar means «to hate». Odiar means to hate: the cold, getting up early, waiting in queues. It is a regular -ar verb, and it is the strong opposite of amar and gustar, used for real dislikes rather than mild preferences. It is a regular -ar verb, so the tables below show you exactly how it behaves in every tense. On this page you will find the full conjugation of odiar in all thirteen tenses, notes on when to use each one, example sentences, the mistakes learners make most often, a ten-question quiz and answers to the questions students ask about this verb. For example: «Yo odio el frío todos los días.» — I hate the cold every day.
Quick facts
| Infinitive | odiar |
| English | to hate |
| Verb type | Regular -ar verb |
| Gerund | odiando |
| Past participle | odiado |
| Auxiliary verb | haber |
Full conjugation tables
Gerund: odiando · Past participle: odiado
Present Indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | odio |
| tú | odias |
| él/ella/Ud. | odia |
| nosotros/as | odiamos |
| vosotros/as | odiáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | odian |
The present tense describes habits, facts and what is happening now. For odiar, the yo form is odio, as in «Yo odio» in the examples below. Use the present for routines («todos los días») and for general truths.
Preterite
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | odié |
| tú | odiaste |
| él/ella/Ud. | odió |
| nosotros/as | odiamos |
| vosotros/as | odiasteis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | odiaron |
The preterite describes completed actions in the past — things that started and finished. «Ayer yo odié» is the classic use. Do not confuse it with the imperfect: the preterite moves the story forward, one finished event at a time.
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | odiaba |
| tú | odiabas |
| él/ella/Ud. | odiaba |
| nosotros/as | odiábamos |
| vosotros/as | odiabais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | odiaban |
The imperfect describes the past as background: habits, descriptions and actions in progress. «De pequeño, yo odiaba» shows the habitual use. It sets the scene while the preterite reports what happened inside it.
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | odiaré |
| tú | odiarás |
| él/ella/Ud. | odiará |
| nosotros/as | odiaremos |
| vosotros/as | odiaréis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | odiarán |
The future tense states what will happen. For odiar the future is built on the infinitive: «Mañana yo odiaré». It is also used for predictions and promises, and in spoken Spanish it often alternates with ir a + infinitive.
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | odiaría |
| tú | odiarías |
| él/ella/Ud. | odiaría |
| nosotros/as | odiaríamos |
| vosotros/as | odiaríais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | odiarían |
The conditional expresses what would happen: wishes, polite requests and hypothetical results. «Si tuviera más tiempo, yo odiaría» is the typical pattern. It shares its stem with the future and changes only the endings.
Present Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | he odiado |
| tú | has odiado |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha odiado |
| nosotros/as | hemos odiado |
| vosotros/as | habéis odiado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | han odiado |
The present perfect connects the past with the present: something that has happened, often today or recently. It is haber in the present plus the past participle: «Hoy yo he odiado». In Spain it is used for anything that happened today; in Latin America the preterite is often preferred.
Pluperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | había odiado |
| tú | habías odiado |
| él/ella/Ud. | había odiado |
| nosotros/as | habíamos odiado |
| vosotros/as | habíais odiado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían odiado |
The pluperfect describes an event that happened before another past event: «Cuando llegué, ya había odiado». It is haber in the imperfect plus the past participle, and it is the tense for explaining what had already happened when something else took place.
Future Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habré odiado |
| tú | habrás odiado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá odiado |
| nosotros/as | habremos odiado |
| vosotros/as | habréis odiado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán odiado |
The future perfect looks back from a future point: by then, something will already have happened. «Para mañana, yo habré odiado» is the pattern — haber in the future plus the past participle. It is less common in speech but regular in formal writing.
Conditional Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habría odiado |
| tú | habrías odiado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría odiado |
| nosotros/as | habríamos odiado |
| vosotros/as | habríais odiado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían odiado |
The conditional perfect expresses what would have happened: «Yo habría odiado si hubiera podido». It is haber in the conditional plus the past participle, and it is the tense for regrets and missed chances.
Present Subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | odie |
| tú | odies |
| él/ella/Ud. | odie |
| nosotros/as | odiemos |
| vosotros/as | odiéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | odien |
The present subjunctive appears after wishes, doubts, emotions and impersonal expressions: «Espero que él odie». The trigger is in the main clause; the subjunctive is the mood of uncertainty, desire and influence. Learn the yo form first — most of the table follows from it.
Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra forms)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | odiara |
| tú | odiaras |
| él/ella/Ud. | odiara |
| nosotros/as | odiáramos |
| vosotros/as | odiarais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | odiaran |
The imperfect subjunctive is the past partner of the present subjunctive, used after past-tense triggers and in si-clauses: «Si él odiara, todo sería distinto». The table above shows the -ra forms, the ones you will hear most often. There is also a less common -se set built on the same stem.
Imperative — Affirmative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | odia |
| él/ella/Ud. | odie |
| nosotros/as | odiemos |
| vosotros/as | odiad |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | odien |
There is no yo form in the imperative — you cannot command yourself.
The affirmative imperative gives direct commands and instructions: «¡Odia!». There is no yo form — you cannot command yourself. The tú form is the one you will use with friends and family, and the usted form with people you address formally.
Imperative — Negative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | odies |
| él/ella/Ud. | odie |
| nosotros/as | odiemos |
| vosotros/as | odiéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | odien |
There is no yo form in the imperative — you cannot command yourself.
The negative imperative tells someone not to do something: «¡No odies!». Unlike the affirmative imperative, the negative forms come from the present subjunctive, which is why they look different. Never use the affirmative form after no.
Example sentences
- Yo odio el frío todos los días. — I hate the cold every day.
- Mi hermana odia el frío mucho. — My sister hates the cold a lot.
- Ayer yo odié el frío por la tarde. — Yesterday I hated the cold in the afternoon.
- De pequeño, yo odiaba el frío muchas veces. — As a child, I used to hate the cold often.
- Mañana yo odiaré el frío sin falta. — Tomorrow I will hate the cold without fail.
- Si tuviera más tiempo, yo odiaría el frío ahora mismo. — If I had more time, I would hate the cold right now.
- Hoy yo he odiado madrugar dos veces. — Today I have hated getting up early twice.
- Espero que él odie el frío pronto. — I hope he hates the cold soon.
- ¡No odies el invierno! — Don't hate winter!
- Ahora mismo estoy odiando el frío. — Right now I am hating the cold.
Common mistakes
1. Forgetting the accent in the preterite
Wrong: odie
Right: odié
The yo preterite of odiar carries a written accent: odié. Without it, odie is the present subjunctive yo form, a completely different tense.
2. Using the imperfect for a finished event
Wrong: Ayer yo odiaba el frío.
Right: Ayer yo odié el frío.
Yesterday's finished action needs the preterite, odié. The imperfect odiaba describes what used to happen or what was going on, not a single completed event.
3. Confusing it with a similar verb
Wrong: *Odio a el frío.
Right: Odio el frío.
Odiar takes a direct object with no preposition when the object is a thing: odio el frío. The a appears before people: odio a mi enemigo.
4. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
Wrong: Espero que tú odias el frío.
Right: Espero que tú odies el frío.
After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: odies, not the indicative odias. Wishes, hopes and doubts all trigger this change.
5. Using the affirmative imperative after no
Wrong: No odia el frío.
Right: No odies el frío.
Negative commands use the subjunctive-based forms: no odies. The affirmative odia can never follow no.
Quiz
Test yourself on the forms above. Choose the correct answer, then check the key below.
1. What is the yo form of odiar in the present tense?
- (a) odia
- (b) odiamos
- (c) odias
- (d) odio
2. What is the él/ella form of odiar in the preterite?
- (a) odiamos
- (b) odiaste
- (c) odié
- (d) odió
3. What is the nosotros form of odiar in the imperfect?
- (a) odiaba
- (b) odiabas
- (c) odiábamos
4. What is the tú form of odiar in the future tense?
- (a) odiaremos
- (b) odiará
- (c) odiarás
- (d) odiaré
5. What is the ellos form of odiar in the conditional?
- (a) odiaría
- (b) odiarían
- (c) odiarías
6. What is the yo form of odiar in the present perfect?
- (a) ha odiado
- (b) has odiado
- (c) he odiado
- (d) hemos odiado
7. After «Espero que…», what is the tú form of odiar?
- (a) odie
- (b) odiemos
- (c) odies
8. What is the nosotros form of odiar in the imperfect subjunctive (-ra)?
- (a) odiara
- (b) odiáramos
- (c) odiaras
9. What is the gerund of odiar?
- (a) odiado
- (b) odiando
- (c) odiar
- (d) odio
10. What is the past participle of odiar?
- (a) odiado
- (b) odiando
- (c) odiar
- (d) odié
Answer key
1. (d) odio — In the present, the yo form of odiar is odio. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
2. (d) odió — In the preterite, the el form of odiar is odió. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
3. (c) odiábamos — In the imperfect, the nosotros form of odiar is odiábamos. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
4. (c) odiarás — In the future, the tu form of odiar is odiarás. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
5. (b) odiarían — In the conditional, the ellos form of odiar is odiarían. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
6. (c) he odiado — In the present perfect, the yo form of odiar is he odiado. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
7. (c) odies — In the present subjunctive, the tu form of odiar is odies. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
8. (b) odiáramos — In the imperfect subjunctive, the nosotros form of odiar is odiáramos. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
9. (b) odiando — The gerund of odiar is odiando. It is used with estar for the progressive: «Estoy odiando».
10. (a) odiado — The past participle of odiar is odiado. It follows haber in all the perfect tenses: «he odiado».
Frequently asked questions
Is odiar regular or irregular?
Yes, odiar is a regular -ar verb. Every tense follows the standard -ar endings, so once you know the pattern you can generate the whole table. The only thing to watch is choosing the right tense, not the forms themselves.
What are the gerund and past participle of odiar?
The gerund is odiando and the past participle is odiado. Use the gerund with estar for actions in progress («Estoy odiando») and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses («he odiado»).
What is the difference between odiar and amar?
Odiar and amar are often confused. Amar is to love; odiar is to hate — the two extremes of feeling.
How do I say «I hate» in Spanish?
Say «Yo odio». That is the yo form of the present tense, the form you need for talking about yourself right now.
Which tense do learners find hardest with odiar?
Most learners struggle with choosing between the preterite and the imperfect, not with the forms themselves. Use the preterite (odié) for a single finished event and the imperfect (odiaba) for habits and background. After that, the subjunctive is the next step.
Related links
- Practise this verb in one tense: odiar-present-tense
- More examples and a quiz: odiar-examples-and-quiz
- Browse all Spanish verbs: /spanish/
- Related verb: amar
- Related verb: temer
- Related verb: gustar
- Conjugate any verb: verb-conjugator
- Test yourself: verb-quiz