hacer
“hacer” means “to do” in Spanish. It has 4 different meanings depending on context:
to do, to make
📝 In Action
¿Qué haces?
A1What are you doing?
Hago la cena todas las noches.
A1I make dinner every night.
Mi hermano hizo un pastel delicioso.
A2My brother made a delicious cake.
Tenemos que hacer la tarea.
A2We have to do the homework.
to be
📝 In Action
¿Qué tiempo hace hoy?
A1What's the weather like today?
Hace mucho calor en verano.
A1It's very hot in the summer.
Ayer hizo mucho viento.
A2It was very windy yesterday.
ago
Also: for
📝 In Action
Llegué a España hace dos meses.
A2I arrived in Spain two months ago.
Comí hace una hora.
A2I ate an hour ago.
Hace dos años que vivo aquí.
B1I have been living here for two years.
to make
Also: to cause
📝 In Action
Esa película me hizo llorar.
B1That movie made me cry.
El ruido me hace doler la cabeza.
B1The noise makes my head hurt.
Le hice leer el libro entero.
B2I made him/her read the whole book.
🔄 Conjugations
indicative
present
imperfect
preterite
subjunctive
present
imperfect
🔀 Commonly Confused With
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✏️ Quick Practice
Quick Quiz: hacer
Question 1 of 3
Which sentence correctly says 'It was cold yesterday'?
📚 More Resources
👥 Word Family▼
📚 Etymology▼
Comes from the Latin verb 'facere', which had a very similar and broad meaning: 'to do, make, create, cause'. Many Spanish words ending in '-fy' in English, like 'satisfy', come from this same Latin root ('satis' + 'facere' = to make enough).
First recorded: Documented since the 10th century.
Cognates (Related words)
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why is it 'hizo' with a 'z' but 'hice' with a 'c' in the past tense?
It's all about sound! In Spanish, the letter 'c' before an 'o' makes a hard 'k' sound (like in 'coco'). To keep the soft 's' sound of 'hacer', the spelling changes to a 'z' in 'hizo'. The 'c' in 'hice' and 'hiciste' already makes the right sound, so no change is needed.
Can I use 'hacer' for asking a question?
Yes, absolutely! While in English you might say 'to ask a question', in Spanish the standard phrase is 'hacer una pregunta' (literally 'to make a question'). It's a very common and natural expression.
What's the difference between 'hace' and 'desde hace'?
They are very similar! Both are used for duration. 'Hace dos años que vivo aquí' and 'Vivo aquí desde hace dos años' both mean 'I've been living here for two years'. The 'desde hace' structure often feels a bit more like 'since', emphasizing the starting point, but in practice, they are often interchangeable.