Introduction

Learning to conjugate reírse — “to laugh” — opens up a whole set of sentences you will use in real Spanish. Whether you are talking about what you do every day, what happened yesterday, or what you plan to do tomorrow, reírse is one of the verbs that carries those sentences, especially when the topic is a lot. On this page you will find the full conjugation of reírse 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. reírse is a reflexive -ir verb; the gerund is riendo and the past participle is reído, and both appear in the tables and examples below. For example: “Yo me río mucho todos los días.” — “I laugh a lot.” Read the tables first, then the notes, and finish with the quiz to check what you have learned.

Quick facts
Infinitive reírse
English to laugh
Verb type Reflexive -ir verb
Gerund riendo
Past participle reído
Auxiliary verb haber
  • Reflexive: yes — always use it with the reflexive pronouns me, te, se, nos, os, se.

Full conjugation tables

Gerund: riendo · Past participle: reído

Present Indicative

Person Form
yo río
tú ríes
él/ella/Ud. ríe
nosotros/as reímos
vosotros/as reís
ellos/ellas/Uds. ríen

The present tense describes habits, facts and what is happening now. For reírse, the yo form is río, as in “Yo me río mucho.” — “I laugh a lot.” This is one of the tenses where reírse does not follow the regular -ir pattern, so learn the forms in the table above rather than guessing them from the infinitive.

Preterite

Person Form
yo reí
tú reíste
él/ella/Ud. rió
nosotros/as reímos
vosotros/as reísteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. rieron

The preterite describes completed actions in the past — things that started and finished. For reírse, the yo form is reí, as in “Yo me reí mucho.” — “I laughed a lot.” This is one of the tenses where reírse does not follow the regular -ir pattern, so learn the forms in the table above rather than guessing them from the infinitive.

Imperfect

Person Form
yo reía
tú reías
él/ella/Ud. reía
nosotros/as reíamos
vosotros/as reíais
ellos/ellas/Uds. reían

The imperfect describes the past as background: habits, descriptions and actions in progress. For reírse, the yo form is reía, as in “Yo me reía mucho.” — “I used to laugh a lot.”

Future

Person Form
yo reiré
tú reirás
él/ella/Ud. reirá
nosotros/as reiremos
vosotros/as reiréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. reirán

The future tense states what will happen. It is also used for predictions and promises. For reírse, the yo form is reiré, as in “Yo me reiré mucho.” — “I will laugh a lot.”

Conditional

Person Form
yo reiría
tú reirías
él/ella/Ud. reiría
nosotros/as reiríamos
vosotros/as reiríais
ellos/ellas/Uds. reirían

The conditional expresses what would happen: wishes, polite requests and hypothetical results. For reírse, the yo form is reiría, as in “Yo me reiría mucho.” — “I would laugh a lot.”

Present Perfect

Person Form
yo he reído
tú has reído
él/ella/Ud. ha reído
nosotros/as hemos reído
vosotros/as habéis reído
ellos/ellas/Uds. han reído

The present perfect connects the past with the present: something that has happened, often today or recently. For reírse, the yo form is he reído, as in “Yo me he reído mucho.” — “I have laughed a lot.”

Pluperfect

Person Form
yo había reído
tú habías reído
él/ella/Ud. había reído
nosotros/as habíamos reído
vosotros/as habíais reído
ellos/ellas/Uds. habían reído

The pluperfect describes an event that happened before another past event. For reírse, the yo form is había reído, as in “Yo me había reído mucho.” — “I had laughed a lot.”

Future Perfect

Person Form
yo habré reído
tú habrás reído
él/ella/Ud. habrá reído
nosotros/as habremos reído
vosotros/as habréis reído
ellos/ellas/Uds. habrán reído

The future perfect describes something that will already be finished by a future moment. For reírse, the yo form is habré reído, as in “Yo me habré reído mucho.” — “I will have laughed a lot.”

Conditional Perfect

Person Form
yo habría reído
tú habrías reído
él/ella/Ud. habría reído
nosotros/as habríamos reído
vosotros/as habríais reído
ellos/ellas/Uds. habrían reído

The conditional perfect describes what would have happened under different conditions. For reírse, the yo form is habría reído, as in “Yo me habría reído mucho.” — “I would have laughed a lot.”

Present Subjunctive

Person Form
yo ría
tú rías
él/ella/Ud. ría
nosotros/as riamos
vosotros/as riáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. rían

The present subjunctive is used after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion and influence. For reírse, the yo form is ría, as in “Espero que yo me ría mucho.” — “I hope that I laugh a lot.” This is one of the tenses where reírse does not follow the regular -ir pattern, so learn the forms in the table above rather than guessing them from the infinitive.

Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra)

Person Form
yo riera
tú rieras
él/ella/Ud. riera
nosotros/as riéramos
vosotros/as rierais
ellos/ellas/Uds. rieran

The imperfect subjunctive is used in the past versions of subjunctive clauses, and after "si" in hypothetical sentences. For reírse, the yo form is riera, as in “Si yo me riera mucho, ...” — “If I laughed a lot, ...” Watch out: the past participle of reírse is irregular — reído, not the regular form — and that irregular participle appears in every perfect tense.

The -se variant of this tense follows the same pattern with -se instead of -ra: riera becomes riese, and the same change applies to every person. Both variants mean the same thing; -ra is more common in everyday speech.

Imperative (affirmative)

Person Form
tú ríe
Ud. ría
nosotros/as riamos
vosotros/as reíd
Uds. rían

Imperative (negative)

Person Form
tú rías
Ud. ría
nosotros/as riamos
vosotros/as riáis
Uds. rían

The imperative is for orders, requests and advice. The affirmative tú form is ríe, as in “No te rías mucho” — “Do not laugh a lot” For the negative imperative, Spanish uses the subjunctive forms: no rías. Note that the affirmative and negative forms differ, so check the table above before you give an order with reírse. This is one of the tenses where reírse does not follow the regular -ir pattern, so learn the forms in the table above rather than guessing them from the infinitive.

Example sentences

Here are ten sentences with reírse, covering different tenses and persons. Read each one out loud, then read the translation, and notice how the verb form changes while the meaning stays the same.

  1. “Yo me río mucho cada día.” — “I laugh a lot.”
  2. “Él se ríe mucho todos los días.” — “He laughs a lot.”
  3. “Yo me reí mucho ayer.” — “I laughed a lot.”
  4. “Él se rió mucho ayer.” — “He laughed a lot.”
  5. “Yo me reía mucho cuando era joven.” — “I used to laugh a lot.”
  6. “Nosotros nos reiremos mucho mañana.” — “We will laugh a lot.”
  7. “Si pudiera, yo me reiría mucho.” — “If I could, i would laugh a lot.”
  8. “Yo me he reído mucho hoy.” — “I have laughed a lot.”
  9. “Espero que yo me ría mucho.” — “I hope that I laugh a lot.”
  10. “Me estoy riendo mucho ahora mismo.” — “I am laughing a lot.”

Common mistakes

Using the unchanged stem

Learners often write reo for the yo form, keeping the infinitive stem unchanged. The correct form is río. Because reírse changes its stem vowel, the change appears in the stressed syllables of the present: say the correct form out loud a few times — yo río mucho — until the changed stem feels natural.

Guessing the past participle

A common error is writing reírido as the past participle of reírse. The correct participle is reído. That matters in every perfect tense: it is he reído, había reído, habré reído. Memorise the participle on its own and the perfect tenses take care of themselves.

Forgetting the accent in the preterite

The yo preterite form is reí, with an accent on the stressed vowel. Writing it without the accent — rei — 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 reírse.

Mixing up present and preterite nosotros

For reírse, the nosotros form is the same in the present and the preterite: reímos. 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 reírse is reflexive, it always needs its pronoun: yo me río mucho, not yo río mucho. 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 reído mucho. English speakers sometimes reach for soy because English uses to be in some passives, but soy reído is not the present perfect of reírse — it is a passive construction with a different meaning.

Quiz

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

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

  • A. ríes
  • B. ríe
  • C. reímos
  • D. río

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

  • A. reímos
  • B. reíste
  • C. reí
  • D. rió

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

  • A. reías
  • B. reíamos
  • C. reíais
  • D. reía

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

  • A. reirá
  • B. reiremos
  • C. reiré
  • D. reirás

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

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

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

  • A. ría
  • B. rían
  • C. ría
  • D. rías

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

  • A. reíste
  • B. rió
  • C. reímos
  • D. reí

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

  • A. reíamos
  • B. reías
  • C. reía
  • D. reía

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

  • A. reiré
  • B. reirás
  • C. reiremos
  • D. reirá

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

  • A. reiría
  • B. reiríamos
  • C. reiría
  • D. reirías

Answer key

  1. río — The present table gives yo = río.
  2. reíste — The preterite table gives tu = reíste.
  3. reía — The imperfect table gives el = reía.
  4. reiremos — The future table gives nosotros = reiremos.
  5. habéis reído — The present perfect table gives vosotros = habéis reído.
  6. rían — The present subjunctive table gives ellos = rían.
  7. reí — The preterite table gives yo = reí.
  8. reías — The imperfect table gives tu = reías.
  9. reirá — The future table gives el = reirá.
  10. reiríamos — The conditional table gives nosotros = reiríamos.

Frequently asked questions

Is reírse regular or irregular?

reírse is a reflexive -ir verb. It changes its stem (e → i) in several tenses, so the stem in the table is not always the infinitive stem. It is irregular in these tenses: present, preterite, present-subjunctive, imperfect-subjunctive, gerund, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative. The tables on this page show the correct form for every person, so use them rather than guessing.

What is the past participle of reírse?

The past participle of reírse is reído. You use it with haber in the perfect tenses — he reído, había reído, habré reído — and after estar in passive-style descriptions. Note that it is irregular: do not write the regular form. Learn it together with the gerund riendo and you have the two non-finite forms covered.

What is the gerund of reírse?

The gerund of reírse is riendo. You use it with estar to describe an action in progress, as in estoy riendo, and after verbs such as seguir and ir. For this verb the gerund shows the stem change, so do not build it from the infinitive by habit. Keep it distinct from the past participle reído, which belongs with haber, not with estar.

What is the yo form of reírse in the present?

The yo form is río — “Yo me río mucho.” means “I laugh a lot.” That is the form you will use most often when you talk about yourself. For other persons, use the present table above: tú ríes, él ríe, nosotros reímos, ellos ríen.

What is the difference between reírse and reinar?

reírse means “to laugh”, while reinar means “to reign”. They share letters and sometimes a root, but they are different verbs. If your sentence means “to laugh”, use reírse; if it is about the meaning of reinar, use reinar instead. Checking the English meaning first prevents most mix-ups.

Do I always need the pronoun with reírse?

Yes. reírse is reflexive, so the pronoun is part of the verb: me, te, se, nos, os, se. You say yo me río, tú te ríes, él se ríe. Leaving the pronoun out changes the meaning or makes the sentence wrong, so learn the pronoun together with each form.

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