Introduction

relucir means “to shine” in English, and it is a verb you will meet again and again once you start reading and speaking Spanish. It is used whenever you need to talk about in the sun — at home, at work, and in everyday conversation — which makes it a practical verb to learn early and to use confidently. This page gives you the complete conjugation of relucir in every tense and mood, with all six persons, plus the gerund and the past participle, example sentences, the mistakes learners make most often, a ten-question quiz and answers to the questions students ask about this verb. Every form below comes from VerbFlow's verified conjugation tables, so you can trust the accents and the irregular forms. relucir is a irregular -ir verb, and the notes under each tense explain exactly where it follows the rules and where it breaks them. To hear it in a real sentence: “El coche reluce en el sol todos los días.” — “The car shines in the sun.” Work through the tables, read the notes, then test yourself with the quiz at the end of the page.

Quick facts
Infinitive relucir
English to shine
Verb type Irregular -ir verb
Gerund reluciendo
Past participle relucido
Auxiliary verb haber

Full conjugation tables

Gerund: reluciendo · Past participle: relucido

Present Indicative

Person Form
yo reluzco
tú reluces
él/ella/Ud. reluce
nosotros/as relucimos
vosotros/as relucís
ellos/ellas/Uds. relucen

The present tense describes habits, facts and what is happening now. For relucir, the yo form is reluzco, as in “El coche reluce en el sol.” — “The car shines in the sun.”

Preterite

Person Form
yo relucí
tú reluciste
él/ella/Ud. relució
nosotros/as relucimos
vosotros/as relucisteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. relucieron

The preterite describes completed actions in the past — things that started and finished. For relucir, the yo form is relucí, as in “El coche relució en el sol.” — “The car shone in the sun.”

Imperfect

Person Form
yo relucía
tú relucías
él/ella/Ud. relucía
nosotros/as relucíamos
vosotros/as relucíais
ellos/ellas/Uds. relucían

The imperfect describes the past as background: habits, descriptions and actions in progress. For relucir, the yo form is relucía, as in “El coche relucía en el sol.” — “The car used to shine in the sun.”

Future

Person Form
yo reluciré
tú relucirás
él/ella/Ud. relucirá
nosotros/as reluciremos
vosotros/as reluciréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. relucirán

The future tense states what will happen. It is also used for predictions and promises. For relucir, the yo form is reluciré, as in “El coche relucirá en el sol.” — “The car will shine in the sun.”

Conditional

Person Form
yo reluciría
tú relucirías
él/ella/Ud. reluciría
nosotros/as reluciríamos
vosotros/as reluciríais
ellos/ellas/Uds. relucirían

The conditional expresses what would happen: wishes, polite requests and hypothetical results. For relucir, the yo form is reluciría, as in “El coche reluciría en el sol.” — “The car would shine in the sun.”

Present Perfect

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

The present perfect connects the past with the present: something that has happened, often today or recently. For relucir, the yo form is he relucido, as in “El coche ha relucido en el sol.” — “The car has shone in the sun.”

Pluperfect

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

The pluperfect describes an event that happened before another past event. For relucir, the yo form is había relucido, as in “El coche había relucido en el sol.” — “The car had shone in the sun.”

Future Perfect

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

The future perfect describes something that will already be finished by a future moment. For relucir, the yo form is habré relucido, as in “El coche habrá relucido en el sol.” — “The car will have shone in the sun.”

Conditional Perfect

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

The conditional perfect describes what would have happened under different conditions. For relucir, the yo form is habría relucido, as in “El coche habría relucido en el sol.” — “The car would have shone in the sun.”

Present Subjunctive

Person Form
yo reluzca
tú reluzcas
él/ella/Ud. reluzca
nosotros/as reluzcamos
vosotros/as relucáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. reluzcan

The present subjunctive is used after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion and influence. For relucir, the yo form is reluzca, as in “Espero que el coche reluzca en el sol.” — “I hope that the car shines in the sun.”

Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra)

Person Form
yo reluciera
tú relucieras
él/ella/Ud. reluciera
nosotros/as reluciéramos
vosotros/as relucierais
ellos/ellas/Uds. relucieran

The imperfect subjunctive is used in the past versions of subjunctive clauses, and after "si" in hypothetical sentences. For relucir, the yo form is reluciera, as in “Si el coche reluciera en el sol, ...” — “If The car shone in the sun, ...”

The -se variant of this tense follows the same pattern with -se instead of -ra: reluciera becomes reluciese, 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 reluce
Ud. reluzca
nosotros/as reluzcamos
vosotros/as relucid
Uds. reluzcan

Imperative (negative)

Person Form
tú reluzcas
Ud. reluzca
nosotros/as reluzcamos
vosotros/as relucáis
Uds. reluzcan

The imperative is for orders, requests and advice. The affirmative tú form is reluce, as in “¡Reluce en el sol” — “Shine in the sun” For the negative imperative, Spanish uses the subjunctive forms: no reluzcas. Note that the affirmative and negative forms differ, so check the table above before you give an order with relucir.

Example sentences

Here are ten sentences with relucir, 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. “El coche reluce en el sol cada día.” — “The car shines in the sun.”
  2. “El coche reluce en el sol todos los días.” — “The car shines in the sun.”
  3. “El coche relució en el sol ayer.” — “The car shone in the sun.”
  4. “El coche relució en el sol ayer.” — “The car shone in the sun.”
  5. “El coche relucía en el sol cuando era joven.” — “The car used to shine in the sun.”
  6. “El coche relucirá en el sol mañana.” — “The car will shine in the sun.”
  7. “Si pudiera, el coche reluciría en el sol.” — “If I could, the car would shine in the sun.”
  8. “El coche ha relucido en el sol hoy.” — “The car has shone in the sun.”
  9. “Espero que el coche reluzca en el sol.” — “I hope that the car shines in the sun.”
  10. “El coche está reluciendo en el sol ahora mismo.” — “The car is shining in the sun.”

Common mistakes

Using the unchanged stem

Learners often write reluco for the yo form, keeping the infinitive stem unchanged. The correct form is reluzco. Because relucir changes its stem vowel, the change appears in the stressed syllables of the present: say the correct form out loud a few times — yo reluzco en el sol — until the changed stem feels natural.

Forgetting the accent in the preterite

The yo preterite form is relucí, with an accent on the stressed vowel. Writing it without the accent — reluci — 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 relucir.

Mixing up present and preterite nosotros

For relucir, the nosotros form is the same in the present and the preterite: relucimos. 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.

Using ser instead of haber in perfect tenses

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

Confusing relucir with relacionar

relucir and relacionar 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 relucir — shine — the sentence needs relucir; if it needs the meaning of relacionar, use that verb instead.

Using the indicative after "espero que"

After espero que (I hope that), Spanish needs the subjunctive: Espero que yo reluzca en el sol. Using the indicative — Espero que yo reluzco — is one of the most frequent learner errors with relucir. Whenever the main clause expresses a wish, doubt or emotion, switch to the subjunctive.

Quiz

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

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

  • A. reluces
  • B. reluce
  • C. relucimos
  • D. reluzco

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

  • A. relucimos
  • B. reluciste
  • C. relucí
  • D. relució

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

  • A. relucías
  • B. relucíamos
  • C. relucíais
  • D. relucía

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

  • A. relucirá
  • B. reluciremos
  • C. reluciré
  • D. relucirás

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

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

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

  • A. reluzca
  • B. reluzcan
  • C. reluzca
  • D. reluzcas

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

  • A. reluciste
  • B. relució
  • C. relucimos
  • D. relucí

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

  • A. relucíamos
  • B. relucías
  • C. relucía
  • D. relucía

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

  • A. reluciré
  • B. relucirás
  • C. reluciremos
  • D. relucirá

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

  • A. reluciría
  • B. reluciríamos
  • C. reluciría
  • D. relucirías

Answer key

  1. reluzco — The present table gives yo = reluzco.
  2. reluciste — The preterite table gives tu = reluciste.
  3. relucía — The imperfect table gives el = relucía.
  4. reluciremos — The future table gives nosotros = reluciremos.
  5. habéis relucido — The present perfect table gives vosotros = habéis relucido.
  6. reluzcan — The present subjunctive table gives ellos = reluzcan.
  7. relucí — The preterite table gives yo = relucí.
  8. relucías — The imperfect table gives tu = relucías.
  9. relucirá — The future table gives el = relucirá.
  10. reluciríamos — The conditional table gives nosotros = reluciríamos.

Frequently asked questions

Is relucir regular or irregular?

relucir is a irregular -ir verb. It follows the regular patterns for its ending in every tense. The tables on this page show the correct form for every person, so use them rather than guessing.

What is the past participle of relucir?

The past participle of relucir is relucido. You use it with haber in the perfect tenses — he relucido, había relucido, habré relucido — and after estar in passive-style descriptions. It is the regular participle for its verb class. Learn it together with the gerund reluciendo and you have the two non-finite forms covered.

What is the gerund of relucir?

The gerund of relucir is reluciendo. You use it with estar to describe an action in progress, as in estoy reluciendo, and after verbs such as seguir and ir. Keep it distinct from the past participle relucido, which belongs with haber, not with estar.

What is the yo form of relucir in the present?

The yo form is reluzco — “El coche reluce en el sol.” means “The car shines in the sun.” That is the form you will use most often when you talk about yourself. For other persons, use the present table above: tú reluces, él reluce, nosotros relucimos, ellos relucen.

What is the difference between relucir and relacionar?

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

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