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captar

kap-TAR/kapˈtaɾ/

to pick up

Also: to receive, to capture
VerbB1regular ar
A satellite dish on a green hill pointing towards the sky.
gerundcaptando
past Participlecaptado
infinitivecaptar

📝 In Action

La antena no logra captar la señal de televisión.

B1

The antenna can't manage to pick up the TV signal.

El micrófono captó todos los ruidos de la calle.

B1

The microphone picked up all the noises from the street.

Esta cámara capta imágenes con mucha luz.

B2

This camera captures images with a lot of light.

Word Connections

Synonyms

Antonyms

Common Collocations

  • captar una señal – to pick up a signal
  • captar el sonido – to pick up sound

to grasp

Also: to get, to perceive
VerbB2regular ar
A person with a glowing yellow light bulb appearing above their head.
gerundcaptando
past Participlecaptado
infinitivecaptar

📝 In Action

¿Captaste el chiste o te lo explico?

B1

Did you get the joke or should I explain it to you?

Captó de inmediato que algo andaba mal.

B2

He realized immediately that something was wrong.

Es difícil captar la ironía en otro idioma.

C1

It's difficult to grasp irony in another language.

Word Connections

Synonyms

Antonyms

Common Collocations

  • captar la idea – to get the idea
  • captar la esencia – to grasp the essence

Idioms & Expressions

  • ¿Captas? – Do you get it? / Do you follow me?

to attract

Also: to win over, to recruit
VerbC1regular ar
A colorful storefront with a bright open sign and people walking toward it.
gerundcaptando
past Participlecaptado
infinitivecaptar

📝 In Action

La campaña logró captar muchos clientes nuevos.

B2

The campaign managed to attract many new customers.

Queremos captar la atención de los jóvenes.

B2

We want to catch the attention of young people.

El partido político busca captar más votos en el norte.

C1

The political party is looking to win more votes in the north.

Word Connections

Synonyms

Antonyms

Common Collocations

  • captar la atención – to catch the attention
  • captar clientes – to attract/gain clients
  • captar fondos – to raise/collect funds

🔄 Conjugations

subjunctive

imperfect

ellos/ellas/ustedescaptaran
yocaptara
túcaptaras
vosotroscaptarais
nosotroscaptáramos
él/ella/ustedcaptara

present

ellos/ellas/ustedescapten
yocapte
túcaptes
vosotroscaptéis
nosotroscaptemos
él/ella/ustedcapte

indicative

preterite

ellos/ellas/ustedescaptaron
yocapté
túcaptaste
vosotroscaptasteis
nosotroscaptamos
él/ella/ustedcaptó

imperfect

ellos/ellas/ustedescaptaban
yocaptaba
túcaptabas
vosotroscaptabais
nosotroscaptábamos
él/ella/ustedcaptaba

present

ellos/ellas/ustedescaptan
yocapto
túcaptas
vosotroscaptáis
nosotroscaptamos
él/ella/ustedcapta
View All Tenses & Moods →

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✏️ Quick Practice

Quick Quiz: captar

Question 1 of 3

Which sentence means 'I didn't get the joke'?

📚 More Resources

👥 Word Family▼
la captura(capture/arrest) — Noun
la captación(attraction/collection/gathering) — Noun
capturable(capable of being captured) — Adjective
🎵 Rhymes▼
📚 Etymology▼

From Latin 'captare', which means 'to try to seize' or 'to catch'. This is a frequentative form of 'capere' (to take/capture).

First recorded: 13th century

Cognates (Related words)

English: captureFrench: capterItalian: captare

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is 'captar' regular or irregular?

It is a perfectly regular -ar verb. It follows the same pattern as 'hablar' or 'cantar' in all tenses.

Can I use 'captar' to mean 'to arrest someone'?

No, for arrests you should use 'capturar' or 'detener'. 'Captar' is for signals, ideas, or attracting attention.

How do I say 'Screenshot' using this word?

A screenshot is called 'una captura de pantalla', which comes from the same word family as 'captar'.