Significar Examples, Sentences and Quiz in Spanish

significar means to mean, to signify, and it is a verb you will meet in everyday Spanish again and again. Significar means to mean or to signify, and it is used for a word meaning something, an event meaning a lot to a family and a change meaning a new era. It is a spelling-change verb: the c becomes qu before e, so the preterite is signifiqué. This page puts significar to work: twelve example sentences in different tenses and persons, grouped by use, then two short dialogues where the verb appears naturally, then the common mistakes to avoid, and finally a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Every Spanish form on this page comes from the verified conjugation tables for significar, and the full tables are on the significar conjugation page if you need to check a form.

Example sentences

Everyday uses

  1. Yo significo mucho para la familia. — I mean a lot to the family.
  2. Él significa un cambio en la empresa. — He/she means a change in the company.
  3. Ayer, yo signifiqué lo mismo en todos los idiomas. — Yesterday, I meant the same thing in every language.
  4. Antes, nosotros significábamos el fin de una era. — Before, we used to mean the end of an era.

In other tenses

  1. Mañana, tú significarás mucho para la familia. — Tomorrow, you will mean a lot to the family.
  2. Yo significaría un cambio en la empresa. — I would mean a change in the company.
  3. Él ha significado lo mismo en todos los idiomas. — He/she has meant the same thing in every language.
  4. Espero que él signifique el fin de una era. — I hope he/she means the end of an era.

With other people

  1. Nosotros significamos mucho para la familia. — We mean a lot to the family.
  2. Vosotros significáis un cambio en la empresa. — You all mean a change in the company.
  3. Antes, ellos significaban lo mismo en todos los idiomas. — Before, they used to mean the same thing in every language.
  4. Mañana, él significará el fin de una era. — Tomorrow, he/she will mean the end of an era.

Significar in context

Two short dialogues that use significar the way people really use it. Read them aloud — the verb forms will stick much faster in a conversation than in a table.

Dialogue 1: today and yesterday

  • Ana: "Hola, ¿qué tal?" — "Hello, how are you?"
  • Luis: "Hoy significo mucho para la familia." — "Today I mean a lot to the family."
  • Ana: "¿Y ayer?" — "And yesterday?"
  • Luis: "Ayer, signifiqué lo mismo en todos los idiomas." — "Yesterday I meant the same thing in every language."
  • Ana: "¿Y mañana, tú significarás un cambio en la empresa?" — "And tomorrow, will you will mean a change in the company?"
  • Luis: "Sí, claro. Y tú también." — "Yes, of course. And you too."

Dialogue 2: making plans

  • Marta: "Mañana, nosotros significamos el fin de una era." — "Tomorrow we mean the end of an era."
  • Carlos: "Perfecto. Yo significaría un cambio en la empresa si tuviera más tiempo." — "Perfect. I would would mean a change in the company if I had more time."
  • Marta: "Espero que él signifique mucho para la familia." — "I hope he means a lot to the family."
  • Carlos: "Seguro que sí. Él ya ha significado lo mismo en todos los idiomas." — "Surely. He has already has meant the same thing in every language."
  • Marta: "Vale, nos vemos mañana." — "OK, see you tomorrow."

Notice how the same verb changes with the tense: the present for the plan, the conditional for the wish, the subjunctive after espero que, and the present perfect for what has already happened. That is the whole point of learning a verb across its tenses, not just in one form.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo significa mucho para la familia. — Right: Yo significo mucho para la familia. — The person matters: significa is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is significo. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
  2. Wrong: Yo significé un cambio en la empresa. — Right: Yo signifiqué un cambio en la empresa. — In the preterite, the correct first-person form is signifiqué, not significé. significar is a spelling-change verb: c becomes qu before e, so the written form changes to keep the same sound. The regular-looking form is wrong.
  3. Wrong: Treating significar and querer as identical in every context. — Right: Significar means to mean, to signify, while querer means to mean, in the querer decir sense. — They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: significar fits sentences such as Significo mucho para la familia, while querer belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy significado un cambio en la empresa. — Right: Yo he significado un cambio en la empresa. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he significado, has significado, ha significado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
  5. Wrong: De niño, yo signifiqué lo mismo en todos los idiomas todos los días. — Right: De niño, yo significaba lo mismo en todos los idiomas todos los días. — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (significaba), not the preterite. The preterite (signifiqué) is for one finished action.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on significar: four on the forms, three on the meaning, and three on spotting the correct sentence. Check the answer key below.

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ mucho para la familia. (present tense) A. significo B. significas C. significa D. significamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Él ___ un cambio en la empresa. (preterite tense) A. signifiqué B. significaste C. significamos D. significó

  3. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ lo mismo en todos los idiomas. (future tense) A. significará B. significaremos C. significarás D. significaré

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ el fin de una era. (imperfect tense) A. significabais B. significábamos C. significaba D. significabas

  5. What does "Yo significo mucho para la familia." mean in English? A. I mean a lot to the family. B. I mean a change in the company. C. I mean the same thing in every language. D. I mean the end of an era.

  6. What does "Él significó un cambio en la empresa." mean in English? A. He/she meant a lot to the family. B. He/she meant the same thing in every language. C. He/she meant the end of an era. D. He/she meant a change in the company.

  7. What does "Nosotros significaremos lo mismo en todos los idiomas." mean in English? A. We will mean a change in the company. B. We will mean the end of an era. C. We will mean the same thing in every language. D. We will mean a lot to the family.

  8. Which sentence is correct? A. Yo significan un cambio en la empresa. B. Yo significa un cambio en la empresa. C. Yo significo un cambio en la empresa.

  9. Which sentence is correct? A. Él signifiqué lo mismo en todos los idiomas. B. Él significó lo mismo en todos los idiomas. C. Él significaron lo mismo en todos los idiomas.

  10. Which sentence is correct? A. Espero que yo signifique el fin de una era. B. Yo significe el fin de una era. C. Yo signifique el fin de una era.

Answer key

  1. significo — The yo present form of significar is significo.
  2. significó — The el preterite form of significar is significó.
  3. significarás — The tu future form of significar is significarás.
  4. significábamos — The nosotros imperfect form of significar is significábamos.
  5. I mean a lot to the family. — The Spanish sentence uses the present form significo, so the English is "I mean a lot to the family." The other options use a different object or situation.
  6. He/she meant a change in the company. — The Spanish sentence uses the preterite form significó, so the English is "He/she meant a change in the company." The other options use a different object or situation.
  7. We will mean the same thing in every language. — The Spanish sentence uses the future form significaremos, so the English is "We will mean the same thing in every language." The other options use a different object or situation.
  8. Yo significo un cambio en la empresa. — The correct sentence is "Yo significo un cambio en la empresa." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.
  9. Él significó lo mismo en todos los idiomas. — The correct sentence is "Él significó lo mismo en todos los idiomas." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.
  10. Espero que yo signifique el fin de una era. — The correct sentence is "Espero que yo signifique el fin de una era." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.

Frequently asked questions

What does significar mean, and when do I use it?

Significar means to mean, to signify. Significar means to mean or to signify, and it is used for a word meaning something, an event meaning a lot to a family and a change meaning a new era. It is a spelling-change verb: the c becomes qu before e, so the preterite is signifiqué. A good first sentence to remember is Yo significo mucho para la familia. — "I mean a lot to the family."

What is the difference between significar and querer?

Significar means to mean, to signify, while querer means to mean, in the querer decir sense. They appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use significar when you mean to mean, to signify, as in Yo significo un cambio en la empresa., and use querer for to mean, in the querer decir sense.

How do I say "I mean" in the past?

For one finished action, use the preterite: Yo signifiqué un cambio en la empresa.. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: Yo significaba lo mismo en todos los idiomas.. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Yo he significado un cambio en la empresa..

How do I practise significar?

Start with the significar conjugation page for the full tables, then the significar in the present tense page for the tense in focus, and use the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure. Spelling change: c becomes qu before e, so the preterite is signifiqué and the subjunctive is signifique.

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