Introduction

refugiarse means “to take refuge”, and it is one of the verbs you will use every day in Spanish. It is the verb for expressing “to take refuge” in everyday Spanish — in conversation, at work, and at home. This page shows refugiarse 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 form unless the sentence is clearly marked as past or future. For a first taste: “Yo me refugio en la montaña por la mañana.” — “I take refuge in the mountains.”

refugiarse in real example sentences

The twelve sentences below are grouped by how refugiarse 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 {verb} in the present tense, which is how you will meet it most often: routines, facts, and things happening now.

  1. “Yo me refugio en la montaña cada día.” — “I take refuge in the mountains.”
  2. “Tú te refugias en la montaña cada día.” — “you take refuge in the mountains.”
  3. “Él se refugia en la montaña siempre.” — “He takes refuge in the mountains.”
  4. “Nosotros nos refugiamos en la montaña todos los días.” — “We take refuge in the mountains.”

Talking about the past

The present is not the only tense you need. These sentences show {verb} in the past, so you can talk about what already happened. 5. “Yo me refugié en la montaña ayer.” — “I took refuge in the mountains.” (preterite) 6. “Él se refugió en la montaña ayer.” — “He took refuge in the mountains.” (preterite) 7. “Yo me refugiaba en la montaña cuando era joven.” — “I used to take refuge in the mountains.” (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 {verb} stays the same. 8. “Nosotros nos refugiaremos en la montaña mañana.” — “We will take refuge in the mountains.” (future) 9. “Tú te has refugiado en la montaña hoy.” — “you have taken refuge in the mountains.” (present-perfect) 10. “Espero que yo me refugie en la montaña.” — “I hope that I take refuge in the mountains.” (present-subjunctive)

More everyday uses

Two more present-tense sentences, covering the remaining persons, so you can see the whole table in action. 11. “Vosotros os refugiáis en la montaña cada semana.” — “You take refuge in the mountains.” 12. “Ellos se refugian en la montaña normalmente.” — “They take refuge in the mountains.”

refugiarse 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 refugiarse appears naturally, without anyone stopping to think about conjugation.

Dialogue at work during a coffee break

Marta: “¿Tú te refugias en la montaña?” — Do you take refuge in the mountains?

Carlos: “Sí, yo me refugio en la montaña cada día. Es parte de mi rutina.” — Yes, I take refuge in the mountains every day. It is part of my routine.

Marta: “¿Y ayer? ¿También te refugias en la montaña?” — And yesterday? Did you take refuge in the mountains too?

Carlos: “Sí, ayer yo me refugié en la montaña. Mañana nosotros refugiaremos en la montaña otra vez.” — Yes, yesterday I took refuge in the mountains. Tomorrow we will take refuge in the mountains again.

A short paragraph

Él se refugia en la montaña cada día — that one sentence already tells you a lot about how refugiarse works in real Spanish: who does it, when, and with what. Around it you can build a whole paragraph: what happened yesterday, what is happening now, and what will happen tomorrow, all with the same verb. When you write your own paragraph, start with the present — yo refugio en la montaña — then add one past sentence and one future sentence, and you have practised three tenses with one verb. That is the fastest way to make refugiarse yours: use it in a story, not only in a table.

Common mistakes

Forgetting the accent in the preterite

The yo preterite form is refugié, with an accent on the stressed vowel. Writing it without the accent — refugie — is a spelling error, and in speech the stress lands in the wrong place. Preterite yo forms that end in a vowel carry that accent, so check it every time you write the preterite of refugiarse.

Mixing up present and preterite nosotros

For refugiarse, the nosotros form is the same in the present and the preterite: refugiamos. Only the context tells you which tense is meant, so pay attention to the time words around it — cada día points to the present, ayer points to the preterite. Do not invent a different form for one of the tenses.

Dropping the reflexive pronoun

Because refugiarse is reflexive, it always needs its pronoun: yo me refugio en la montaña, not yo refugio en la montaña. Without me, the sentence either means something else or means nothing at all. The pronouns are me, te, se, nos, os, se — learn them with the verb, not as an afterthought.

Using ser instead of haber in perfect tenses

Spanish perfect tenses always use haber, never ser: yo he refugiado en la montaña. English speakers sometimes reach for soy because English uses to be in some passives, but soy refugiado is not the present perfect of refugiarse — it is a passive construction with a different meaning.

Confusing refugiarse with reflexionar

refugiarse and reflexionar look similar, and learners mix them up. They are different verbs with different meanings, so check which one the sentence needs before you conjugate. If you can substitute the English meaning of refugiarse — take refuge — the sentence needs refugiarse; if it needs the meaning of reflexionar, use that verb instead.

Quiz

Test yourself on the forms above. Choose the best answer, then check the key below.

1. What is the yo form of refugiarse in the present?

  • A. refugias
  • B. refugia
  • C. refugiamos
  • D. refugio

2. What is the tu form of refugiarse in the preterite?

  • A. refugiamos
  • B. refugiaste
  • C. refugié
  • D. refugió

3. What is the el form of refugiarse in the imperfect?

  • A. refugiabas
  • B. refugiábamos
  • C. refugiabais
  • D. refugiaba

4. What is the nosotros form of refugiarse in the future?

  • A. refugiará
  • B. refugiaremos
  • C. refugiaré
  • D. refugiarás

5. What is the vosotros form of refugiarse in the present perfect?

  • A. he refugiado
  • B. has refugiado
  • C. ha refugiado
  • D. habéis refugiado

6. What is the ellos form of refugiarse in the present subjunctive?

  • A. refugie
  • B. refugien
  • C. refugie
  • D. refugies

7. What is the yo form of refugiarse in the preterite?

  • A. refugiaste
  • B. refugió
  • C. refugiamos
  • D. refugié

8. What is the tu form of refugiarse in the imperfect?

  • A. refugiábamos
  • B. refugiabas
  • C. refugiaba
  • D. refugiaba

9. What is the el form of refugiarse in the future?

  • A. refugiaré
  • B. refugiarás
  • C. refugiaremos
  • D. refugiará

10. What is the nosotros form of refugiarse in the conditional?

  • A. refugiaría
  • B. refugiaríamos
  • C. refugiaría
  • D. refugiarías

Answer key

  1. refugio — The present table gives yo = refugio.
  2. refugiaste — The preterite table gives tu = refugiaste.
  3. refugiaba — The imperfect table gives el = refugiaba.
  4. refugiaremos — The future table gives nosotros = refugiaremos.
  5. habéis refugiado — The present perfect table gives vosotros = habéis refugiado.
  6. refugien — The present subjunctive table gives ellos = refugien.
  7. refugié — The preterite table gives yo = refugié.
  8. refugiabas — The imperfect table gives tu = refugiabas.
  9. refugiará — The future table gives el = refugiará.
  10. refugiaríamos — The conditional table gives nosotros = refugiaríamos.

Frequently asked questions

How do I use refugiarse in a sentence?

Put the subject first, then the conjugated form, then the rest: “Yo me refugio en la montaña.” — “I take refuge in the mountains.” Do not forget the reflexive pronoun: it goes before the verb. Change the form for the person and the tense, but keep the sentence pattern the same.

What is the most useful form of refugiarse to learn first?

Learn the present yo form refugio first, then the preterite yo form refugié and the participle refugiado. With those three you can talk about the present, the past and the perfect tenses. Add the gerund refugiando next, and you can describe actions in progress too.

Is refugiarse reflexive?

Yes — refugiarse is reflexive, so it always takes me, te, se, nos, os or se. You say yo me refugio, never just yo refugio. The pronoun goes before the conjugated verb, or attached to the infinitive and gerund.

Where can I see the full conjugation of refugiarse?

On the main conjugation page for refugiarse, which has every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle, plus notes, examples and a quiz. The present-tense page covers one tense in depth if that is what you need right now.

Related links