Decir Conjugation In Spanish

How to use digo, dije, dicho, and the rest without staring at the wall like the verb personally offended you.

The first time I spent a few days listening closely to everyday Mexican Spanish, I kept hearing versions of decir every few minutes: ya te dije, dime, me dijo, no digas. That was the moment this verb stopped being a messy chart and started looking like what it really is: one of the little engines that keeps real conversation moving.

This guide gives you the forms you actually need, the patterns that make them easier to remember, and real examples that sound like adult Spanish instead of cardboard textbook dialogue. Because yes, decir is irregular. No, it is not here to ruin your life.

Yak Box: The Fast Memory Trick

Think of decir as four mini-verbs: digo for now, dije for then, diré for later, and dicho for done.

What Decir Means And How It Works

Decir usually means to say or to tell. Spanish uses the same verb for both ideas, so the pattern around the verb matters a lot.

Pattern	English Meaning	Example
decir algo	to say something	Dijo la verdad. = He said the truth.
decir que…	to say that…	Ella dice que llega tarde. = She says that she is arriving late.
decirle algo a alguien	to tell someone something	Le dije mi nombre a Laura. = I told Laura my name.
querer decir	to mean	Eso no quiere decir lo mismo. = That does not mean the same thing.

One very useful adult-level detail: when you are telling someone something, Spanish often uses an indirect object pronoun like me, te, or le. So Me dijo la verdad means He told me the truth, not just He said the truth.

The Core Forms You Will Hear All The Time

digo

English: I say / I tell
Example: Yo digo la verdad en la reunión. = I tell the truth in the meeting.

dices

English: you say / you tell
Example: Tú dices eso cada semana. = You say that every week.

dije

English: I said / I told
Example: Yo dije eso ayer por mensaje. = I said that yesterday by text.

dijo

English: he / she / you said
Example: Ella dijo que sí. = She said yes.

di

English: say / tell (tú command)
Example: Di la verdad. = Tell the truth.

dicho

English: said / told (past participle)
Example: Lo he dicho antes. = I have said it before.

Present Tense: Digo, Dices, Dice…

In the present tense, decir does two annoying little things. First, the yo form becomes digo. Second, the stem changes from e to i in most forms: dices, dice, dicen. The nosotros form stays normal: decimos.

Subject	Form	English Meaning	Example
yo	digo	I say / I tell	Yo digo la verdad en el trabajo.
tú	dices	you say / you tell	Tú dices eso en cada reunión.
él / ella / usted	dice	he / she / you say(s)	Usted dice su nombre al entrar.
nosotros / nosotras	decimos	we say / we tell	Nosotros decimos lo mismo por mensaje.
ellos / ellas / ustedes	dicen	they / you all say	Ustedes dicen que mañana pueden.

Mexico note: in Mexican Spanish, you will normally use ustedes for plural “you,” not vosotros. So for everyday use in Mexico, dicen matters much more than decís.

Preterite: Dije, Dijiste, Dijo…

This is the tense for completed past actions: what someone said, told, promised, admitted, denied, or blurted out before coffee. The stem changes hard here: dij-. One classic mistake is writing dijieron. The correct form is dijeron.

Subject	Form	English Meaning	Example
yo	dije	I said / I told	Yo dije tu nombre en la lista.
tú	dijiste	you said / you told	Tú dijiste que no podías ir.
él / ella / usted	dijo	he / she / you said	Ella dijo la fecha correcta.
nosotros / nosotras	dijimos	we said / we told	Nosotros dijimos todo en la reunión.
ellos / ellas / ustedes	dijeron	they / you all said	Ustedes dijeron otra cosa ayer.

Fast fix: if you are talking about one finished moment in the past, the preterite is usually the one you want: Me dijo la verdad = He told me the truth.

Imperfect: Decía, Decías…

The imperfect is much calmer. It is regular here. Use it for repeated actions, background description, or what someone used to say.

Subject	Form	English Meaning	Example
yo	decía	I was saying / I used to say	Yo decía eso cuando trabajaba allí.
tú	decías	you were saying / used to say	Tú decías lo mismo cada lunes.
él / ella / usted	decía	he / she / you was saying	Ella decía que todo iba bien.
nosotros / nosotras	decíamos	we were saying / used to say	Nosotros decíamos eso de broma.
ellos / ellas / ustedes	decían	they / you all were saying	Ellos decían que venían tarde.

Quick contrast: dijo = he said once. decía = he was saying / he used to say. Tiny difference, big payoff.

Future: Diré, Dirás…

In the future tense, decir changes to the stem dir-. That stem also shows up in the conditional, which is helpful because this verb finally decides to be useful for once.

Subject	Form	English Meaning	Example
yo	diré	I will say / I will tell	Yo diré la verdad mañana.
tú	dirás	you will say / tell	Tú dirás qué pasó después.
él / ella / usted	dirá	he / she / you will say	Ella dirá si acepta la oferta.
nosotros / nosotras	diremos	we will say / tell	Nosotros diremos algo al final.
ellos / ellas / ustedes	dirán	they / you all will say	Ustedes dirán su decisión luego.

Conditional: Diría, Dirías…

Use the conditional for “would say,” polite opinions, guesses, and softening your tone. Very handy when you want to sound less blunt and more like a functioning adult.

Subject	Form	English Meaning	Example
yo	diría	I would say / tell	Yo diría que no conviene.
tú	dirías	you would say / tell	Tú dirías eso sin pensarlo.
él / ella / usted	diría	he / she / you would say	Usted diría lo mismo con calma.
nosotros / nosotras	diríamos	we would say / tell	Nosotros diríamos la verdad.
ellos / ellas / ustedes	dirían	they / you all would say	Ellas dirían que sí otra vez.

Present Subjunctive: Diga, Digas…

You will use the present subjunctive after wishes, doubt, emotion, recommendations, and that lovely moment when one verb starts bossing around another verb.

Subject	Form	English Meaning	Example
yo	diga	that I say / tell	Es importante que yo diga la verdad.
tú	digas	that you say / tell	Quiero que digas lo que piensas.
él / ella / usted	diga	that he / she / you say	Dudo que ella diga eso en público.
nosotros / nosotras	digamos	that we say / tell	Es mejor que digamos todo ahora.
ellos / ellas / ustedes	digan	that they / you all say	Ojalá que ustedes digan la verdad.

Common trigger: Quiero que me digas la verdad = I want you to tell me the truth. That little que often signals the subjunctive is coming.

Commands: Di, Diga, No Digas…

The command forms are high-frequency because people are constantly asking for information, explanations, names, prices, directions, and the truth. Funny how that keeps happening.

Command	Form	English Meaning	Example
tú affirmative	di	say / tell	Di la verdad. = Tell the truth.
usted affirmative	diga	say / tell	Diga su nombre, por favor. = Say your name, please.
nosotros affirmative	digamos	let’s say / let’s tell	Digamos exactamente eso. = Let’s say exactly that.
ustedes affirmative	digan	say / tell, you all	Digan lo que saben. = Tell what you know.
tú negative	no digas	don’t say / don’t tell	No digas tonterías. = Don’t say nonsense.
usted negative	no diga	don’t say / don’t tell	No diga nada todavía. = Don’t say anything yet.
nosotros negative	no digamos	let’s not say / tell	No digamos eso en público. = Let’s not say that in public.
ustedes negative	no digan	don’t say / tell, you all	No digan mentiras. = Don’t tell lies.

Important: the tú command is di, not dice. That mistake is incredibly common, so now you get to avoid it and look suspiciously competent.

Non-Finite Forms: Decir, Diciendo, Dicho

Form	English Meaning	Example
decir	to say / to tell	Quiero decir algo importante. = I want to say something important.
diciendo	saying / telling	Está diciendo la verdad. = He is telling the truth.
dicho	said / told	Lo hemos dicho muchas veces. = We have said it many times.

Dicho is the past participle, so it appears in perfect tenses like he dicho = I have said. Diciendo is the gerund, so it appears in progressive forms like estoy diciendo = I am saying.

Useful Real-Life Phrases With Decir

Spanish	English Meaning	Example
dime	tell me / say it	Dime la verdad ahora. = Tell me the truth now.
ya te dije	I already told you	Ya te dije que salgo a las ocho. = I already told you I leave at eight.
me dijo que…	he / she told me that…	Me dijo que llegaba tarde. = She told me she was arriving late.
te digo la verdad	I’m telling you the truth	Te digo la verdad: no entiendo nada. = I’m telling you the truth: I do not understand anything.
no me digas	no way / you don’t say	¡No me digas que renunció! = No way, he quit?
quiero decir	I mean	Quiero decir otra cosa. = I mean something else.
es decir	that is / in other words	Llegó tarde, es decir, perdió el inicio. = He arrived late, that is, he missed the beginning.
mejor dicho	or rather / more precisely	Vive lejos, mejor dicho, lejísimos. = He lives far away, or rather, very far away.

Why These Phrases Matter

A chart teaches you forms. Phrases teach you how those forms actually live in sentences. Learn both, and decir stops feeling like a grammar problem and starts working like a real tool.

Related Verbs That Behave A Bit Like Decir

Several verbs built from decir keep similar irregular pieces. You do not need to memorize all of them today, but it helps to know the family exists.

Verb	English Meaning	Example
predecir	to predict	Los expertos predicen lluvia mañana. = Experts predict rain tomorrow.
contradecir	to contradict	No me contradigas enfrente del cliente. = Do not contradict me in front of the client.
bendecir	to bless	El abuelo bendijo la comida. = Grandfather blessed the meal.
maldecir	to curse	Maldijo el tráfico toda la mañana. = He cursed the traffic all morning.

Common Mistakes And Fast Fixes

Mistake	Better Spanish	Why
Yo deciro…	Yo digo…	The yo form is irregular in the present.
Ellos dijieron…	Ellos dijeron…	The preterite third-person plural drops the extra i.
Dice la verdad as a tú command	Di la verdad	The affirmative tú command is di.
Hablo la verdad	Digo la verdad	Hablar means to speak; decir means to say or tell.
Dije ella la verdad	Le dije la verdad a ella	When you tell someone something, Spanish often needs le.
Vosotros everywhere in Mexico	ustedes	Mexican Spanish uses ustedes for plural “you.”

Practice Section

Fill in the blank with the correct form of decir.

Yo ______ la verdad siempre. (present)
Ayer ella ______ que sí. (preterite)
Cuando trabajábamos juntos, nosotros siempre ______ lo mismo. (imperfect)
Mañana te ______ el plan completo. (future)
Quiero que me ______ la verdad. (present subjunctive)
______ tu nombre, por favor. (usted command)

Show Answers

digo — Yo digo la verdad siempre. = I always tell the truth.
dijo — Ayer ella dijo que sí. = Yesterday she said yes.
decíamos — Cuando trabajábamos juntos, nosotros siempre decíamos lo mismo. = When we worked together, we always said the same thing.
diré — Mañana te diré el plan completo. = Tomorrow I will tell you the full plan.
digas — Quiero que me digas la verdad. = I want you to tell me the truth.
diga — Diga tu nombre, por favor. is wrong; the correct sentence is Diga su nombre, por favor. = Say your name, please.

Quick Reference Summary

digo = I say / tell
dije = I said / told
decía = I was saying / I used to say
diré = I will say / tell
diría = I would say / tell
diga / digas = subjunctive forms after wishes, doubt, emotion, and recommendations
di = tú command
diciendo = saying / telling
dicho = said / told

Final Yak

If you remember only the backbone today, make it this: digo, dije, decía, diré, diría, diga, di, dicho. That tiny set covers an absurd amount of real Spanish, which is rude but also useful.