encontró
“encontró” means “found” in Spanish. It has 3 different meanings depending on context:
found
Also: located, spotted
📝 In Action
Mi hermana **encontró** sus llaves debajo del sofá.
A1My sister found her keys under the sofa.
El niño **encontró** un perrito perdido en el parque.
A2The boy found a lost puppy in the park.
¿Quién **encontró** la solución al problema?
B1Who found the solution to the problem?
met
Also: ran into, encountered
📝 In Action
Se **encontró** con su profesor en el supermercado.
A2He/She ran into his/her teacher at the supermarket.
El explorador se **encontró** con un obstáculo inesperado.
B1The explorer encountered an unexpected obstacle.
found
Also: discovered, realized
📝 In Action
Después de leer el libro, **encontró** la historia un poco aburrida.
B1After reading the book, he/she found the story a bit boring.
La investigación **encontró** que no había suficiente evidencia.
B2The investigation found that there wasn't enough evidence.
🔄 Conjugations
indicative
present
imperfect
preterite
subjunctive
present
imperfect
Translate to Spanish
✏️ Quick Practice
Quick Quiz: encontró
Question 1 of 1
Which sentence correctly describes someone running into a friend by accident?
📚 More Resources
👥 Word Family▼
📚 Etymology▼
Comes from the old Latin phrase `in contra`, which meant 'in front of' or 'against'. The idea was that you 'came up against' something you were looking for or bumped into by chance.
First recorded: Around the 12th century.
Cognates (Related words)
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Frequently Asked Questions
What's the difference between `encontró` and `encontraba`?
`Encontró` is for a single, completed action in the past, like 'He found his wallet yesterday.' It's done. `Encontraba` is for actions that were ongoing or happened repeatedly in the past, like 'He was always finding interesting things at the market.'
Can I say `encontró a su amigo`?
Yes, but it has a different meaning. `Encontró a su amigo` means 'He found his friend' (implying he was looking for him). `Se encontró con su amigo` means 'He ran into his friend' (by chance).