A colorful storybook illustration showing two friends communicating. A girl is actively speaking with an open mouth while a boy is focused on listening to her, symbolizing 'you said' or 'you told'.

dijiste

dee-HEES-tay

VerbA2irregular ir

you said?General use,you told?When telling something to someone

Quick Reference

infinitivedecir

gerunddiciendo

past Participledicho

📝 In Action

¿Qué dijiste? No te oí.

What did you say? I didn't hear you.

Me dijiste que llegarías a las cinco.

You told me you would arrive at five.

Dijiste una mentira, y por eso estoy enojado.

You told a lie, and that's why I'm angry.

Word Connections

Synonyms

afirmaste (you affirmed)
declaraste (you declared)
mencionaste (you mentioned)

Antonyms

callaste (you stayed quiet)
negaste (you denied)

Common Collocations

dijiste la verdad – you told the truth
dijiste que no – you said no
me lo dijiste – you told me so / you told it to me

Idioms & Expressions

lo dijiste de broma – you said it as a joke

💡 Grammar Points

Talking About a Specific Past Action

'Dijiste' is the form of 'decir' (to say/tell) used for a specific, completed action in the past. You use it when talking to one person you know well ('tú') about something they said once. Think of it as the Spanish for 'you said' in sentences like 'Yesterday, you said...'

❌ Common Pitfalls

Adding an 's' at the end

Mistake: "Tú dijistes la verdad."

Correction: Tú dijiste la verdad. It's a very common habit for native speakers and learners alike to add an extra 's' to this verb form, but the correct version never has it. Just remember: no 's' on 'dijiste'!

'Dijiste' vs. 'Decías'

Mistake: "Cuando éramos niños, me dijiste chistes todos los días."

Correction: Cuando éramos niños, me decías chistes todos los días. Use 'dijiste' for a one-time event in the past. For repeated actions or habits, like 'you used to tell me jokes', you need the other past tense form, 'decías'.

⭐ Usage Tips

Using 'Said' vs. 'Told'

'Dijiste' can mean both 'you said' and 'you told'. The difference is whether you mention who was told. Compare: 'Dijiste algo' (You said something) vs. 'Me dijiste algo' (You told me something).

🔄 Conjugations

indicative

present

él/ella/usteddice

yodigo

túdices

ellos/ellas/ustedesdicen

nosotrosdecimos

vosotrosdecís

imperfect

él/ella/usteddecía

yodecía

túdecías

ellos/ellas/ustedesdecían

nosotrosdecíamos

vosotrosdecíais

preterite

él/ella/usteddijo

yodije

túdijiste

ellos/ellas/ustedesdijeron

nosotrosdijimos

vosotrosdijisteis

subjunctive

present

él/ella/usteddiga

yodiga

túdigas

ellos/ellas/ustedesdigan

nosotrosdigamos

vosotrosdigáis

imperfect

él/ella/usteddijera o dijese

yodijera o dijese

túdijeras o dijeses

ellos/ellas/ustedesdijeran o dijesen

nosotrosdijéramos o dijésemos

vosotrosdijerais o dijeseis

View All Tenses & Moods →

✏️ Quick Practice

💡 Quick Quiz: dijiste

Question 1 of 1

Which sentence correctly uses 'dijiste'?

📚 More Resources

Word Family

decir(to say, to tell) - verb

dicho(saying, proverb) - noun

dicción(diction) - noun

contradecir(to contradict) - verb

predecir(to predict) - verb

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the difference between 'dijiste' and 'dijo'?

'Dijiste' is used when you are talking directly to one person ('you said'). 'Dijo' is used when you are talking about someone else ('he said' or 'she said').

Why is it 'dijiste' and not 'deciste'?

Because 'decir' is an irregular verb! Many of the most common verbs in Spanish have special, unique forms in the past tense that you just have to memorize. The stem changes from 'dec-' to 'dij-' for all persons in this tense (dije, dijiste, dijo, etc.).