Respirar Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Spanish

respirar means "to breathe" in English, and this page shows you how it actually sounds in everyday Spanish — not just the conjugation table, but the verb in real sentences, in short dialogues, and in the mistakes learners make with it. Respirar means "to breathe" — in and out, deeply, with difficulty, with relief. It is used for the literal act of breathing (respirar hondo, to breathe deeply), for fresh air (respirar aire puro), and figuratively for relief (respirar tranquilo, to breathe easy) and for a break (déjame respirar, let me breathe). It is a fully regular -ar verb: respiro, respiras, respira, respiramos, respiráis, respiran. Its noun is la respiración, and its adjective is respiratorio. Because breathing is the first thing a doctor checks, respirar is also a common medical verb. Below you will find twelve example sentences grouped by meaning, two short dialogues, the most common mistakes with corrections, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. If you want the full tables first, start with the full conjugation of respirar; if you want to study one tense in depth, see the respirar present tense page.

respirar in everyday use: examples with translations

Breathing deeply

  1. Yo respiro hondo antes del examen. — "I breathe deeply before the exam."
  2. Ella respira hondo y se calma. — "She breathes deeply and calms down."
  3. Ayer yo respiré hondo antes de hablar. — "Yesterday I breathed deeply before speaking."
  4. De niño, yo respiraba por la boca. — "As a child, I used to breathe through my mouth."

Fresh air

  1. Nosotros respiramos aire puro en el campo. — "We breathe fresh air in the countryside."
  2. Nosotros respiramos mejor en la montaña. — "We breathe better in the mountains."
  3. Nosotros respiraremos aire puro en vacaciones. — "We will breathe fresh air on holiday."
  4. Yo he respirado aire puro hoy. — "I have breathed fresh air today."

Breathing easy and with difficulty

  1. Tú respiras tranquilo después del examen. — "You breathe easy after the exam."
  2. Mi abuelo respira con dificultad. — "My grandfather breathes with difficulty."
  3. Yo respiraría mejor en el campo. — "I would breathe better in the countryside."
  4. Vosotros respiráis aire contaminado. — "You breathe polluted air."

respirar in conversation

Two short dialogues that use respirar the way people really speak it. Notice how the verb changes with the person, and how the same verb fits different situations.

Before an exam, a teacher calms the class.

  • Profesora: Yo respiro hondo antes del examen. — "I breathe deeply before the exam."
  • Alumno: Ella respira hondo y se calma. — "She breathes deeply and calms down."
  • Profesora: ¿Tú respiras tranquilo después del examen? — "Do you breathe easy after the exam?"
  • Alumno: Ayer yo respiré hondo antes de hablar. — "Yesterday I breathed deeply before speaking."

In the mountains, breathing fresh air.

  • Ana: Nosotros respiramos aire puro en el campo. — "We breathe fresh air in the countryside."
  • Luis: Nosotros respiramos mejor en la montaña. — "We breathe better in the mountains."
  • Ana: Mi abuelo respira con dificultad. — "My grandfather breathes with difficulty."
  • Luis: Nosotros respiraremos aire puro en vacaciones. — "We will breathe fresh air on holiday."

Common mistakes with respirar

The errors learners actually make with respirar, each with the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.

✗ *Yo respiro a hondo.

✓ Correct: Yo respiro hondo antes del examen.

Respirar hondo takes no preposition: respirar hondo, respirar tranquilo. Never use a before the adverb.

✗ *Tú respiras a muy rápido.

✓ Correct: Tú respiras muy rápido cuando corres.

Again, no a before the adverb: respirar rápido, respirar despacio, respirar tranquilo.

✗ *Vosotros respiráis aire contaminado (written without the accent: respirais).

✓ Correct: Vosotros respiráis aire contaminado.

Respiráis needs the written accent on the á.

✗ *Nosotros respiramos a aire puro.

✓ Correct: Nosotros respiramos aire puro en el campo.

Air is a direct object: respirar aire puro, with no a before it.

Quiz: respirar in use

Ten questions on respirar — its forms, its tenses and its everyday use. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below, where every answer is explained.

1. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ hondo antes del examen. — "I breathe deeply before the exam."

  • a) respiras
  • b) respiro
  • c) respira
  • d) respiré

2. Complete the sentence: Ayer yo ______ hondo antes de hablar. — "Yesterday I breathed deeply before speaking."

  • a) respiraste
  • b) respiró
  • c) respiré
  • d) respiro

3. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ______ mejor en la montaña. — "We breathe better in the mountains."

  • a) respiramos
  • b) respiramos
  • c) respiras
  • d) respiro

4. Complete the sentence: Tú ______ tranquilo después del examen. — "You breathe easy after the exam."

  • a) respira
  • b) respiro
  • c) respiraste
  • d) respiras

5. Which is the correct present tense form of respirar for yo?

  • a) respiras
  • b) respiro
  • c) respira
  • d) respiramos

6. Which is the correct present tense form of respirar for tú?

  • a) respira
  • b) respiras
  • c) respiro
  • d) respiramos

7. Which is the correct present tense form of respirar for ellos/ellas/Uds.?

  • a) respiras
  • b) respiran
  • c) respira
  • d) respiro

8. Which sentence uses respirar correctly?

  • a) Nosotros respira mejor en la montaña.
  • b) Nosotros respirábamos mejor en la montaña.
  • c) Nosotros respiramos mejor en la montaña.

9. What is the past participle of respirar?

  • a) respiró
  • b) respiro
  • c) respirando
  • d) respirado

10. What does respirar mean in English?

  • a) to breathe
  • b) to go
  • c) to calm down
  • d) to have

Answer key

  1. b) respiro — The sentence needs the yo form in the present: respiro.

  2. c) respiré — The sentence needs the yo form in the preterite: respiré.

  3. a) respiramos — The sentence needs the nosotros/as form in the present: respiramos.

  4. d) respiras — The sentence needs the tú form in the present: respiras.

  5. b) respiro — The present tense form for yo is respiro.

  6. b) respiras — The present tense form for tú is respiras.

  7. b) respiran — The present tense form for ellos/ellas/Uds. is respiran.

  8. c) Nosotros respiramos mejor en la montaña. — Nosotros respiramos mejor en la montaña. is correct. The other sentences use the wrong person, the wrong tense, or the wrong pattern for this verb.

  9. d) respirado — The past participle is respirado. You need it for every perfect tense with haber: he respirado, has respirado, ha respirado.

  10. a) to breathe — respirar means "to breathe".

Frequently asked questions

How do I use respirar in everyday conversation?

Start with the phrases in the examples above — especially the common combinations such as respirar hondo and respirar aire puro. Use the present tense for habits and general facts, and the preterite for things that happened once. Say the sentences aloud until the forms feel automatic, then swap in your own details: your own town, your own family, your own routine.

What is the difference between respirar and calmarse?

respirar means "to breathe", while calmarse means "to calm down". They are related words that learners often meet together, but they are not interchangeable — use respirar when you mean "to breathe" and calmarse when you mean "to calm down".

Which tense do I need most with respirar?

The present tense, for habits, routines and general facts — that is where you will use respirar most. The preterite comes next, for things that happened once and ended. The examples on this page use both, plus the imperfect, the future and the present perfect, so you can see the verb across the tenses you actually need.

Is respirar formal or informal?

respirar is neutral — it is used in both formal and informal Spanish, at home, at work and at school. There is no special formal version of it; the same forms work in a conversation with a friend and in a letter to a company. What changes is the situation, not the verb.

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