Pintarse Conjugation in Spanish

The Spanish verb pintarse means to paint oneself — it also means to put on makeup, and it is a verb you will use again and again once you know it. Pintarse is a regular -ar, reflexive verb, so the tables below show you exactly how it behaves in every tense. Pintarse is reflexive, so it always takes a reflexive pronoun that matches the person: me, te, se, nos, os or se. For example, me pinto los labios means "I put on makeup my lips". Without the pronoun, the verb changes meaning or stops making sense. On this page you will find the full conjugation of pintarse 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, in the present tense you say Yo me pinto los labios — "I put on makeup my lips" — and in the preterite you say Yo me pinté las uñas — "I put on makeup my nails". 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.

Quick facts

  • Infinitive: pintarse
  • English: to paint oneself, to put on makeup
  • Verb type: regular -ar, reflexive verb
  • Ending: -ar
  • Gerund: pintando
  • Past participle: pintado
  • Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + pintado)
  • Reflexive pronouns: me, te, se, nos, os, se — one before every conjugated form, matching the person.

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for pintarse, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one. Pintarse is reflexive: me pinto, te pintas. Without the pronoun, pintar means something else — it acts on someone or something else, not on yourself.

Full conjugation tables

Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for pintarse. The imperfect subjunctive is shown in its -ra forms; the -se forms use the same stem. For reflexive verbs, the pronoun column shows the reflexive pronoun that goes before each form.

Gerund: pintando · Past participle: pintado

Present indicative

Person Pronoun Form
yo me pinto
tú te pintas
él/ella/Ud. se pinta
nosotros/as nos pintamos
vosotros/as os pintáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se pintan

Preterite

Person Pronoun Form
yo me pinté
tú te pintaste
él/ella/Ud. se pintó
nosotros/as nos pintamos
vosotros/as os pintasteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se pintaron

Imperfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me pintaba
tú te pintabas
él/ella/Ud. se pintaba
nosotros/as nos pintábamos
vosotros/as os pintabais
ellos/ellas/Uds. se pintaban

Future

Person Pronoun Form
yo me pintaré
tú te pintarás
él/ella/Ud. se pintará
nosotros/as nos pintaremos
vosotros/as os pintaréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se pintarán

Conditional

Person Pronoun Form
yo me pintaría
tú te pintarías
él/ella/Ud. se pintaría
nosotros/as nos pintaríamos
vosotros/as os pintaríais
ellos/ellas/Uds. se pintarían

Present perfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me he pintado
tú te has pintado
él/ella/Ud. se ha pintado
nosotros/as nos hemos pintado
vosotros/as os habéis pintado
ellos/ellas/Uds. se han pintado

Pluperfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me había pintado
tú te habías pintado
él/ella/Ud. se había pintado
nosotros/as nos habíamos pintado
vosotros/as os habíais pintado
ellos/ellas/Uds. se habían pintado

Future perfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me habré pintado
tú te habrás pintado
él/ella/Ud. se habrá pintado
nosotros/as nos habremos pintado
vosotros/as os habréis pintado
ellos/ellas/Uds. se habrán pintado

Conditional perfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me habría pintado
tú te habrías pintado
él/ella/Ud. se habría pintado
nosotros/as nos habríamos pintado
vosotros/as os habríais pintado
ellos/ellas/Uds. se habrían pintado

Present subjunctive

Person Pronoun Form
yo me pinte
tú te pintes
él/ella/Ud. se pinte
nosotros/as nos pintemos
vosotros/as os pintéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se pinten

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)

Person Pronoun Form
yo me pintara
tú te pintaras
él/ella/Ud. se pintara
nosotros/as nos pintáramos
vosotros/as os pintarais
ellos/ellas/Uds. se pintaran

Imperative (affirmative)

Person Pronoun Form
tú te pinta
él/ella/Ud. se pinte
nosotros/as nos pintemos
vosotros/as os pintad
ellos/ellas/Uds. se pinten

Imperative (negative)

Person Pronoun Form
tú te pintes
él/ella/Ud. se pinte
nosotros/as nos pintemos
vosotros/as os pintéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se pinten

Gerund and past participle

Form Spanish Use
Gerund pintando with estar for the progressive: estoy pintando (or me estoy pintando for this reflexive verb)
Past participle pintado with haber for the perfect tenses: he pintado

How to use each tense

Present indicative

Use the present for routines, general facts and what is happening right now. It is the tense you will use most often in everyday conversation, for habits with words like todos los días and for statements that are true in general. For pintarse, the present indicative looks like this in a real sentence: Yo me pinto las uñas — "I put on makeup my nails". Learn the present indicative forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Preterite

Use the preterite for finished actions in the past — things that started and ended, often with time words like ayer, anoche or la semana pasada. The preterite moves a story forward, one completed event at a time. For pintarse, the preterite looks like this in a real sentence: Yo me pinté delante del espejo — "I put on makeup in front of the mirror". Learn the preterite forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Imperfect

Use the imperfect for background, habits and actions in progress in the past, often with words like antes, de niño or mientras. It describes how things used to be, not one finished event. For pintarse, the imperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo me pintaba los labios — "I used to put on makeup my lips". Learn the imperfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Future

Use the future for plans, predictions and promises, often with mañana, el año que viene or pronto. It talks about what will happen, not what is happening now. For pintarse, the future looks like this in a real sentence: Yo me pintaré las uñas — "I will put on makeup my nails". Learn the future forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Conditional

Use the conditional for polite requests, hypotheticals and what would happen, often in si clauses. It softens a request and describes imagined situations. For pintarse, the conditional looks like this in a real sentence: Yo me pintaría delante del espejo — "I would put on makeup in front of the mirror". Learn the conditional forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Present perfect

Use the present perfect for recent actions and experiences, often with hoy, esta semana or ya. It connects the past with the present moment. For pintarse, the present perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo me he pintado los labios — "I have put on makeup my lips". Learn the present perfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Pluperfect

Use the pluperfect when one past action happened before another past action. It is the past of the past, and it usually appears with antes de or ya. For pintarse, the pluperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo me había pintado las uñas — "I had put on makeup my nails". Learn the pluperfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Future perfect

Use the future perfect for something that will already be finished by a future time, often with para mañana or para el viernes. For pintarse, the future perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo me habré pintado delante del espejo — "I will have put on makeup in front of the mirror". Learn the future perfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Conditional perfect

Use the conditional perfect for what would have happened under different conditions. It looks back at a past that never happened. For pintarse, the conditional perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo me habría pintado los labios — "I would have put on makeup my lips". Learn the conditional perfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Present subjunctive

Use the present subjunctive after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion and hope, such as espero que or quiero que. The subjunctive does not state a fact; it states an attitude towards the action. For pintarse, the present subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Espero que él se pinte las uñas — "I hope he puts on makeup my nails". Learn the present subjunctive forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)

Use the imperfect subjunctive after past wishes and in si clauses about the past, and note the -ra forms shown here; the -se forms use the same stem. For pintarse, the imperfect subjunctive (-ra) looks like this in a real sentence: Si yo me pintara delante del espejo, todo cambiaría — "If I put on makeup in front of the mirror, everything would change". Learn the imperfect subjunctive (-ra) forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Imperative (affirmative)

Use the affirmative imperative for direct commands, instructions and invitations. It tells someone to do something, and it has no yo form. For pintarse, the imperative (affirmative) looks like this in a real sentence: Que se pinte los labios — "Let him put on makeup my lips". Learn the imperative (affirmative) forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Imperative (negative)

Use the negative imperative, always with no, to tell someone not to do something. It uses the subjunctive forms, so it looks different from the affirmative commands. For pintarse, the imperative (negative) looks like this in a real sentence: No te pintes las uñas — "Don't put on makeup my nails". Learn the imperative (negative) forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Example sentences

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

  1. Yo me pinto delante del espejo — "I put on makeup in front of the mirror"
  2. Él se pinta los labios — "He puts on makeup my lips"
  3. Yo me pinté las uñas — "I put on makeup my nails"
  4. Yo me pintaba delante del espejo — "I used to put on makeup in front of the mirror"
  5. Tú te pintarás los labios — "You will put on makeup my lips"
  6. Yo me pintaría las uñas — "I would put on makeup my nails"
  7. Él se ha pintado delante del espejo — "He has put on makeup in front of the mirror"
  8. Espero que él se pinte los labios — "I hope he puts on makeup my lips"
  9. Yo me había pintado las uñas — "I had put on makeup my nails"
  10. Ellos se pintaban delante del espejo — "They used to put on makeup in front of the mirror"

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo pinto los labios — Right: Yo me pinto los labios — Pintarse is reflexive, so the pronoun me is required: without it the verb means something else, or nothing at all.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, yo me pinto — Right: Ayer, yo me pinté — The present tense cannot describe a finished action yesterday. Ayer forces the preterite, so the form must change to pinté.
  3. Wrong: De niño, yo me pinté todos los días. — Right: Todos los días, yo me pintaba — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (pintaba), not the preterite. The preterite (pinté) is for one finished action.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy pintado las uñas. — Right: Yo me he pintado las uñas. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he pintado, has pintado, ha pintado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
  5. Wrong: Espero que él pinta los labios. — Right: Espero que él se pinte los labios. — After espero que, Spanish needs the subjunctive: pinte. The indicative pinta is wrong here.

Quiz: test yourself

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

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo me ___ los labios. (present tense) A. pintaré B. pintara C. habrías pintado D. pinto

  2. Complete the sentence: Él se ___ los labios. (preterite) A. habéis pintado B. pinté C. pintó D. han pintado

  3. Complete the sentence: Nosotros nos ___ los labios. (imperfect) A. pinta B. pintéis C. pintábamos D. pintarías

  4. Complete the sentence: Tú te ___ los labios. (future) A. he pintado B. pintarás C. había pintado D. pinté

  5. Complete the sentence: Yo me ___ los labios. (conditional) A. pintabais B. pintaría C. pintemos D. había pintado

  6. Complete the sentence: Espero que él se ___ los labios. (present subjunctive) A. pintarás B. pinte C. pintamos D. pintan

  7. Complete the sentence: Si yo me ___ los labios, todo cambiaría. (imperfect subjunctive, -ra form) A. habíamos pintado B. pintara C. pintemos D. pintaba

  8. Complete the sentence: Nosotros nos ___ los labios. (present perfect) A. hemos pintado B. había pintado C. he pintado D. pintaste

  9. Complete the command: No te ___ los labios. (negative imperative, tú) A. pinten B. pintéis C. pintes D. pinte

  10. Which is the gerund of pintarse, used with estar for the progressive? A. pintaré B. pinté C. pintando D. pinto

Answer key

  1. me pinto — The yo present tense of pintarse is me pinto.
  2. se pintó — The él/ella/Ud. preterite of pintarse is se pintó.
  3. nos pintábamos — The nosotros/as imperfect of pintarse is nos pintábamos.
  4. te pintarás — The tú future of pintarse is te pintarás.
  5. me pintaría — The yo conditional of pintarse is me pintaría.
  6. se pinte — The él/ella/Ud. present subjunctive of pintarse is se pinte.
  7. me pintara — The yo imperfect subjunctive, -ra form of pintarse is me pintara.
  8. nos hemos pintado — The nosotros/as present perfect of pintarse is nos hemos pintado.
  9. te pintes — The negative tú imperative uses the present subjunctive form with no before it: te pintes.
  10. pintando — The gerund of pintarse is pintando: estoy pintando. The participle pintado is used with haber instead.

Frequently asked questions

What does pintarse mean in English?

Pintarse means to paint oneself, to put on makeup. It is used in everyday situations such as Yo me pinto los labios. The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.

Is pintarse a reflexive verb?

Yes. Pintarse is reflexive, so it always takes a reflexive pronoun that matches the person: me, te, se, nos, os or se. For example, Yo me pinto los labios and Él se pinta las uñas. If you leave the pronoun out, the verb changes meaning or stops making sense.

What is the gerund and the past participle of pintarse?

The gerund is pintando, used with estar for the progressive: estoy pintando. The past participle is pintado, used with haber in the perfect tenses: he pintado.

How do I say “I put on makeup” in the past?

It depends on the kind of past. For one finished action, use the preterite: Yo me pinté las uñas. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: Yo me pintaba delante del espejo. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Yo me he pintado los labios.

How do I practise pintarse?

Start with the present tense table, then drill the preterite and the imperfect, since those two past tenses cause the most mistakes. Try the pintarse examples and quiz page for more sentences, and use the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure.

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