A person with a warm smile is carefully painting a small clay pot on a workbench filled with art supplies.

haciendo

/ah-see-EN-doh/

Verb (Gerund)A1

doing?general action,making?creating something

Also:working on?a project or task

Quick Reference

infinitivehacer

gerundhaciendo

past Participlehecho

📝 In Action

¿Qué estás haciendo?

What are you doing?

Estoy haciendo la cena.

I am making dinner.

Llevo dos horas haciendo mi tarea.

I've been doing my homework for two hours.

Siguió haciendo ruido a pesar de que le pedí silencio.

He kept making noise even though I asked for silence.

Word Connections

Synonyms

realizando (carrying out, performing)

Common Collocations

estar haciendo – to be doing/making
seguir haciendo – to keep doing/making
llevar tiempo haciendo algo – to have been doing something for a while

Idioms & Expressions

haciendo tiempo – Killing time, waiting for something to happen.

💡 Grammar Points

The 'In Progress' Word (-ing Form)

'Haciendo' is the Spanish version of 'doing' or 'making'. You almost always use it with a helper verb like 'estar' to talk about what's happening right now, just like '-ing' in English.

How to Form '-iendo' Words

To make the '-ing' form for most verbs ending in '-er' or '-ir', you just swap the ending for '-iendo'. For example, 'comer' becomes 'comiendo' (eating) and 'vivir' becomes 'viviendo' (living).

❌ Common Pitfalls

Don't Use It Like an Adjective

Mistake: "El hombre haciendo café es mi padre."

Correction: In Spanish, you can't usually use the '-iendo' form to describe a person or thing directly. Instead, say: 'El hombre que está haciendo café es mi padre' (The man who is making coffee is my father).

Using it for the Future

Mistake: "Estoy haciendo mi tarea mañana."

Correction: 'Estar + -iendo' is for right now or around the current time. For the future, it's better to say 'Voy a hacer mi tarea mañana' (I'm going to do my homework tomorrow).

⭐ Usage Tips

More Than Just 'Estar'

You can pair 'haciendo' with other cool verbs too! 'Sigo haciendo' means 'I keep doing', 'voy haciendo' means 'I'm gradually doing', and 'llevo tiempo haciendo' means 'I've been doing for a while'.

✏️ Quick Practice

💡 Quick Quiz: haciendo

Question 1 of 1

Which sentence correctly says 'I'm making a cake right now'?

📚 More Resources

Word Family

hacer(to do, to make) - verb

hecho(done, made / a fact) - adjective/noun

deshacer(to undo) - verb

hacedor(maker, doer) - noun

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the difference between 'haciendo' and 'hago'?

'Haciendo' is like '-ing' in English (doing/making). You use it with a helper verb like 'estar' to say something is happening *right now* (Estoy haciendo...). 'Hago' is the simple present (I do/make), used for habits or general truths (Hago ejercicio todos los días).

Can I just say 'haciendo' by itself?

Usually not. 'Haciendo' needs a partner verb to make sense in a sentence, like 'estoy haciendo' (I am doing) or 'sigo haciendo' (I keep doing). It describes *how* or *while* another action happens.