Inklingo
Dictionary

encontrarla

en-kon-TRAR-laeŋkonˈtɾaɾla

“encontrarla” means “to find her” in Spanish. It has 2 different meanings depending on context:

to find herA2Verb

referring to a person

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to meet herB1Verb

to arrange to meet a woman

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to find her, to find itAlso: to discover it

VerbA2irregular (stem-changing) ar
A young man looks delighted as he successfully finds a woman hiding playfully behind a tree in a sunny park.
infinitiveencontrar
gerundencontrando
past Participleencontrado

📝 In Action

Necesito la llave. ¿Puedes ayudarme a encontrarla?

A2

I need the key. Can you help me to find it?

Estudió mucho para encontrarla, la respuesta correcta.

B1

She studied a lot to find it, the correct answer.

Word Connections

Synonyms

  • hallarla (to find it/her)
  • localizarla (to locate it/her)

Antonyms

  • perderla (to lose her/it)
  • extraviarla (to misplace her/it)

Common Collocations

  • poder encontrarla – to be able to find it/her
  • intentar encontrarla – to try to find it/her

to meet her, to run into her

VerbB1irregular (stem-changing) ar
A man waves to a woman who is waiting for him near a park bench, showing they have arranged to meet.
infinitiveencontrar
gerundencontrando
past Participleencontrado

📝 In Action

Ella dijo que quería encontrarla después del trabajo.

B1

She said she wanted to meet her after work.

Fue una sorpresa encontrarla en el cine, no sabía que estaba en la ciudad.

B2

It was a surprise to run into her at the cinema; I didn't know she was in the city.

Word Connections

Synonyms

  • reunirse con ella (to meet up with her)
  • verla (to see her)

Indicative

Present

yoencuentro
túencuentras
él/ella/ustedencuentra
nosotrosencontramos
vosotrosencontráis
ellos/ellas/ustedesencuentran

Imperfect

yoencontraba
túencontrabas
él/ella/ustedencontraba
nosotrosencontrábamos
vosotrosencontrabais
ellos/ellas/ustedesencontraban

Preterite

yoencontré
túencontraste
él/ella/ustedencontró
nosotrosencontramos
vosotrosencontrasteis
ellos/ellas/ustedesencontraron

Subjunctive

Present Subjunctive

yoencuentre
túencuentres
él/ella/ustedencuentre
nosotrosencontremos
vosotrosencontréis
ellos/ellas/ustedesencuentren

Imperfect Subjunctive

yoencontrara/encontrase
túencontraras/encontrases
él/ella/ustedencontrara/encontrase
nosotrosencontráramos/encontrásemos
vosotrosencontrarais/encontraseis
ellos/ellas/ustedesencontraran/encontrasen
View All Tenses & Moods →

✏️ Quick Practice

Quick Quiz: encontrarla

Question 1 of 1

Which sentence correctly uses 'encontrarla'?

📚 More Resources

👥 Word Family
encontrar(to find) — Verb
encuentro(a meeting/encounter) — Noun
encontrarse(to find oneself / to be located) — Verb
🎵 Rhymes
llamarlaterminarla
📚 Etymology

The base verb 'encontrar' comes from the Latin prefix 'in-' (meaning 'in' or 'on') combined with the word 'contra' (meaning 'against' or 'opposite'). The original sense was related to running against something or meeting face-to-face, which evolved into the modern sense of locating or discovering.

First recorded: 13th century

Cognates (Related words)

Portuguese: encontrarFrench: rencontrer

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Frequently Asked Questions

If 'la' is attached to the infinitive, where else can I put it?

When you have two verbs (like 'poder' + 'encontrar'), the pronoun 'la' can either be attached to the infinitive ('Quiero encontrarla') or placed immediately before the conjugated verb ('La quiero encontrar'). Both are correct ways to say 'I want to find it/her'.

How do I say 'to find him' instead of 'to find her'?

You would use the masculine direct object pronoun 'lo' instead of 'la', resulting in the word 'encontrarlo'.