The first time I really noticed perdonar in the wild, it was not in some grand movie speech about redemption. It was at a busy dinner where one person bumped another, someone laughed, somebody said perdóname, and about ten seconds later a totally different person said ya te perdoné. That is the charm of this verb: it can sound dramatic, tender, sarcastic, warm, or just very, very human.

In this guide, you will learn the full perdonar conjugation in Spanish, but also the part most charts skip: when each form actually sounds natural. Because memorizing a giant table is cute and all, but using the verb well is better.

Perdonar is a regular -ar verb, so the endings behave nicely. The emotions around it? Less cooperative.

What Perdonar Means

Perdonar usually means to forgive, and sometimes to pardon or to excuse, depending on context. In everyday Mexican Spanish, you will most often hear it in apology and forgiveness situations:

• ¿Me perdonas? — Will you forgive me?
• Te perdono. — I forgive you.
• Perdóneme. — Forgive me. / Excuse me. (formal)

Form	Spanish	English Meaning	Example
Infinitive	perdonar	to forgive	Es difícil perdonar después de una traición. — It is hard to forgive after a betrayal.
Gerund	perdonando	forgiving	Está perdonando poco a poco. — She is forgiving little by little.
Past Participle	perdonado	forgiven	Lo hemos perdonado. — We have forgiven him.

The Main Perdonar Conjugation Chart

The main table below uses the forms you will actually hear most in Mexico, so you will see ustedes instead of vosotros. I add a note on Spain and vos later, because yes, Spanish likes options.

Pronoun	Present	Preterite	Imperfect	Future	Conditional
yo	perdono	perdoné	perdonaba	perdonaré	perdonaría
tú	perdonas	perdonaste	perdonabas	perdonarás	perdonarías
él / ella / usted	perdona	perdonó	perdonaba	perdonará	perdonaría
nosotros / nosotras	perdonamos	perdonamos	perdonábamos	perdonaremos	perdonaríamos
ellos / ellas / ustedes	perdonan	perdonaron	perdonaban	perdonarán	perdonarían

Watch the sneaky one: perdonamos can mean we forgive or we forgave. The sentence tells you which one it is.

• Hoy perdonamos rápido. — Today we forgive quickly. (present)
• Ayer perdonamos demasiado rápido. — Yesterday we forgave too quickly. (preterite)

Subjunctive And Imperative Forms You Will Actually Use

The subjunctive shows up a lot with forgiveness because people hope, doubt, request, and react around apologies all the time.

Pronoun	Present Subjunctive	Imperfect Subjunctive
yo	perdone	perdonara / perdonase
tú	perdones	perdonaras / perdonases
él / ella / usted	perdone	perdonara / perdonase
nosotros / nosotras	perdonemos	perdonáramos / perdonásemos
ellos / ellas / ustedes	perdonen	perdonaran / perdonasen

Very common triggers:

• Espero que me perdones. — I hope you forgive me.
• Dudo que la jefa nos perdone. — I doubt the boss will forgive us.
• Quiero que lo perdones. — I want you to forgive him.

Command Type	Spanish	English Meaning	Example
Tú affirmative	perdona	forgive	Perdona mis nervios. — Forgive my nerves.
Tú negative	no perdones	don’t forgive	No perdones una mentira así de fácil. — Don’t forgive a lie like that so easily.
Usted affirmative	perdone	forgive / excuse me	Perdone la demora. — Forgive the delay.
Nosotros	perdonemos	let’s forgive	Perdonemos y sigamos. — Let’s forgive and move on.
Ustedes	perdonen	forgive	Perdonen el desorden. — Forgive the mess.

The Most Useful Perdonar Forms In Real Life

Useful Phrases And Real-Life Sentences

Spanish	English Meaning	Example	Natural Translation
Perdóname por eso.	Forgive me for that.	Perdóname por eso; estaba muy estresado.	Forgive me for that; I was very stressed.
¿Me puedes perdonar?	Can you forgive me?	¿Me puedes perdonar esta vez?	Can you forgive me this time?
Te perdono.	I forgive you.	Te perdono, pero necesito tiempo.	I forgive you, but I need time.
No la perdono.	I do not forgive her.	No la perdono por lo que dijo.	I do not forgive her for what she said.
Ya lo perdoné.	I already forgave him.	Ya lo perdoné, pero no lo olvido.	I already forgave him, but I do not forget it.
Nos perdonamos.	We forgave each other.	Después de hablar, nos perdonamos.	After talking, we forgave each other.
Espero que me perdones.	I hope you forgive me.	Espero que me perdones algún día.	I hope you forgive me someday.
Dudo que la perdonen.	I doubt they forgive her.	Dudo que la perdonen tan rápido.	I doubt they forgive her so quickly.
Perdóneme, por favor.	Forgive me, please.	Perdóneme, por favor, no fue mi intención.	Forgive me, please, it was not my intention.
Perdóname, no fue personal.	Forgive me, it was not personal.	Perdóname, no fue personal; reaccioné mal.	Forgive me, it was not personal; I reacted badly.

How To Use Perdonar Naturally

Pattern	English Meaning	Example 1	Example 2
perdonar a alguien	to forgive someone	No puedo perdonar a mi hermano. — I cannot forgive my brother.	Ella perdonó a su amiga. — She forgave her friend.
perdonar algo	to forgive something	No perdono esa traición. — I do not forgive that betrayal.	Perdonó el error. — He forgave the mistake.
perdonar por + noun / infinitive	to forgive for something / for doing something	Perdóname por el retraso. — Forgive me for the delay.	Te perdono por decir la verdad. — I forgive you for telling the truth.
pedir perdón	to ask for forgiveness / to apologize	Vino a pedir perdón. — He came to ask for forgiveness.	Tiene que pedir perdón. — She has to apologize.
perdonarse	to forgive oneself / each other	Todavía no me perdono ese error. — I still do not forgive myself for that mistake.	Con tiempo, se perdonaron. — With time, they forgave each other.

One useful grammar note: when the person being forgiven is a person, you normally use the personal a.

• Perdono a Carlos. — I forgive Carlos.
• Perdono el error. — I forgive the mistake.

Perdón, Perdóname, And Lo Siento

This is where many learners get tangled up, because Spanish loves giving you three ways to sound sorry and then judging you silently if you pick the odd one.

Expression	English Meaning	When To Use It	Example
Perdón	sorry / excuse me	quick interruption, bumping into someone, getting attention	Perdón, ¿esta silla está ocupada? — Sorry, is this seat taken?
Perdóname	forgive me	more personal apology, emotional situations	Perdóname, hablé sin pensar. — Forgive me, I spoke without thinking.
Lo siento	I’m sorry	deeper regret, bad news, sympathy, serious apology	Lo siento mucho. — I’m very sorry.

Common Mistakes And Easy Fixes

• Mixing up perdón and perdóname.
  Perdón is a quick “sorry” or “excuse me.” Perdóname is “forgive me.” One is light; the other has feelings attached.
• Forgetting the personal a.
  Say Perdono a mi amiga, not just Perdono mi amiga.
• Using the indicative after hope or doubt.
  Say Espero que me perdones, not Espero que me perdonas.
• Using present when a completed past moment is better.
  Te perdono = I forgive you now / in general. Te perdoné = I forgave you already.
• Ignoring register.
  Perdóname is informal. Perdóneme is formal. Your boss and your cousin are not the same audience, usually.

A Few High-Value Compound Forms

Spanish	English Meaning	Example
he perdonado	I have forgiven	He perdonado cosas peores. — I have forgiven worse things.
había perdonado	I had forgiven	Ya lo había perdonado antes de la reunión. — I had already forgiven him before the meeting.
habría perdonado	I would have forgiven	Lo habría perdonado, pero mintió otra vez. — I would have forgiven him, but he lied again.
haya perdonado	that I have forgiven	Dudo que ella me haya perdonado. — I doubt that she has forgiven me.

Practice Section

Try these before peeking at the answers. Yes, I know peeking is tempting.

1. Complete the sentence: Espero que me ________.
2. Change to the preterite: Te perdono.
3. Choose the better option: Perdón or Perdóname in “_____ por cancelar la cita.”
4. Translate: “We already forgave her.”
5. Translate: “Forgive me, please.” (formal)
6. Complete the sentence: No puedo perdonar ___ mi jefe por ese mensaje a medianoche.

Answers

1. perdones
2. Te perdoné.
3. Perdóname
4. Ya la perdonamos.
5. Perdóneme, por favor.
6. a

Quick Reference Summary

• Perdonar is a regular -ar verb.
• Main meaning: to forgive.
• Most useful everyday forms: perdóname, ¿me perdonas?, te perdono, ya te perdoné.
• Use the personal a with people: Perdono a Ana.
• Use the subjunctive after expressions like espero que and dudo que.
• In Mexican Spanish, ustedes is the normal everyday plural “you.”

What About Vosotros And Vos?

If you study Spanish from Spain, you will also see vosotros perdonáis, vosotros perdonasteis, and perdonad. In parts of Latin America that use vos, you may hear forms like vos perdonás, vos perdonés, and perdoná. Useful to recognize, not essential on day one.

Now you have the full perdonar conjugation in Spanish, plus the real-life phrases that make it useful instead of decorative. Review the tables, say the examples out loud, and give extra attention to the subjunctive and command forms. Those are the ones that tend to show up exactly when your brain decides to go on vacation.