completar
“completar” means “to complete” in Spanish. It has 3 different meanings depending on context:
to complete, to finish
Also: to achieve
📝 In Action
Necesito completar la tarea antes de irme.
A1I need to complete the homework before I leave.
Ella completó el maratón en menos de cuatro horas.
A2She finished the marathon in less than four hours.
¿Puedes completar las instrucciones que faltan?
B1Can you complete the missing instructions?
to fill in, to fill out
📝 In Action
Antes de la entrevista, debe completar la solicitud.
A2Before the interview, you must fill out the application.
Asegúrate de completar todos los campos obligatorios.
B1Make sure to fill in all the required fields.
to round out, to supplement
Also: to make up the number
📝 In Action
Ese libro completa la trilogía que estabas buscando.
B1That book rounds out the trilogy you were looking for.
Necesitamos un jugador más para completar el equipo.
B2We need one more player to make up the team.
🔄 Conjugations
indicative
present
preterite
imperfect
subjunctive
present
imperfect
Translate to Spanish
✏️ Quick Practice
Quick Quiz: completar
Question 1 of 2
Which sentence uses 'completar' in the sense of 'filling out a form'?
📚 More Resources
👥 Word Family▼
📚 Etymology▼
Comes directly from the Latin verb *completare*, which literally meant 'to fill up' or 'to finish off.' It has kept this core meaning of making something whole or total for centuries.
First recorded: Medieval Spanish
Cognates (Related words)
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is 'completar' different from 'terminar'?
Yes, slightly. 'Terminar' simply means to stop or end. 'Completar' specifically means to finish something by making it whole, full, or reaching a required goal. For example, you 'terminar' a conversation, but you 'completar' a puzzle.
Does 'completar' require any special changes when conjugating?
No, that's the good news! 'Completar' is a regular '-ar' verb, so it follows all the standard conjugation rules perfectly, making it very straightforward to use in any tense.