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pasar

pa-sar/paˈsaɾ/

to pass, to go by

Also: to cross
VerbA1regular ar
A small, brightly colored car driving across a simple wooden bridge over a small stream.
infinitivepasar
gerundpasando
past Participlepasado

📝 In Action

El tiempo pasa muy rápido cuando te diviertes.

A1

Time passes very quickly when you're having fun.

Vimos pasar un tren por la ventana.

A2

We saw a train pass by the window.

Para ir al banco, tienes que pasar el puente.

A2

To get to the bank, you have to cross the bridge.

Word Connections

Synonyms

Antonyms

Common Collocations

  • pasar por – to pass by/through
  • dejar pasar – to let pass, to let go

to happen

Also: to be the matter
VerbA1regular ar
A small, happy cartoon character looking surprised as a single, colorful butterfly suddenly appears right in front of their nose.
infinitivepasar
gerundpasando
past Participlepasado

📝 In Action

¿Qué pasa? ¿Por qué estás tan callado?

A1

What's wrong? Why are you so quiet?

No te preocupes, no pasa nada.

A1

Don't worry, it's nothing / nothing is wrong.

Me pasó algo increíble hoy en el trabajo.

A2

Something incredible happened to me today at work.

Word Connections

Synonyms

Common Collocations

  • ¿Qué pasa? – What's happening? / What's up?
  • No pasa nada. – It's nothing. / No problem.

Idioms & Expressions

  • pase lo que pase – no matter what happens

to spend

Also: to have
VerbA2regular ar
Two cheerful friends building a colorful sandcastle on a sunny beach.
infinitivepasar
gerundpasando
past Participlepasado

📝 In Action

Me encanta pasar tiempo con mis amigos.

A2

I love spending time with my friends.

Pasamos todo el fin de semana en la playa.

A2

We spent the whole weekend at the beach.

¿Pasaste un buen día?

B1

Did you have a good day?

Word Connections

Common Collocations

  • pasar el tiempo – to spend time
  • pasar el rato – to hang out, to pass the time
  • pasarlo bien/mal – to have a good/bad time

to pass, to hand

VerbA2regular ar
Two pairs of hands meeting in the center, passing a single, brightly colored salt shaker from one set of hands to the other.
infinitivepasar
gerundpasando
past Participlepasado

📝 In Action

¿Me puedes pasar la sal, por favor?

A2

Can you pass me the salt, please?

Pásame ese libro que está en la mesa.

A2

Hand me that book that's on the table.

Word Connections

Synonyms

to come in, to enter

VerbA2regular ar
A welcoming, brightly lit open doorway leading into a cozy, colorful living room, with a clear path inviting entry.
infinitivepasar
gerundpasando
past Participlepasado

📝 In Action

¡Hola! Por favor, pasa, estás en tu casa.

A2

Hello! Please, come in, make yourself at home.

El profesor nos dijo que podíamos pasar al aula.

B1

The teacher told us we could enter the classroom.

Word Connections

Synonyms

Antonyms

  • salir (to leave, to exit)

to pass

VerbB1regular ar
A smiling student next to a stylized success ribbon and a stack of colorful books, indicating academic achievement.
infinitivepasar
gerundpasando
past Participlepasado

📝 In Action

Si estudias mucho, vas a pasar el examen.

B1

If you study a lot, you are going to pass the exam.

¡Felicidades! Pasaste al siguiente nivel.

B1

Congratulations! You passed to the next level.

Word Connections

Synonyms

Antonyms

  • suspender (to fail (an exam))
  • reprobar (to fail (an exam))

Common Collocations

  • pasar de curso – to pass the grade/year

to go too far, to overdo it

Also: to go stale, to be overripe
VerbB2reflexive arinformal
A small, friendly cartoon chef looking dismayed at a giant bowl of soup overflowing with salt crystals that have spilled over the edge of the bowl.
infinitivepasarse
gerundpasándose
past Participlepasado

📝 In Action

Ese chiste fue de mal gusto. Creo que te pasaste.

B2

That joke was in bad taste. I think you went too far.

Me pasé con la sal en la sopa; ahora está muy salada.

B2

I overdid it with the salt in the soup; now it's too salty.

No dejes los plátanos afuera, se van a pasar.

B1

Don't leave the bananas out, they're going to get overripe.

Word Connections

Synonyms

  • excederse (to exceed)
  • exagerar (to exaggerate)

Antonyms

  • contenerse (to hold back)

Common Collocations

  • pasarse de la raya – to cross the line
  • pasarse de listo – to be a wise guy, to be too clever for one's own good

🔄 Conjugations

indicative

present

él/ella/ustedpasa
yopaso
túpasas
ellos/ellas/ustedespasan
nosotrospasamos
vosotrospasáis

imperfect

él/ella/ustedpasaba
yopasaba
túpasabas
ellos/ellas/ustedespasaban
nosotrospasábamos
vosotrospasabais

preterite

él/ella/ustedpasó
yopasé
túpasaste
ellos/ellas/ustedespasaron
nosotrospasamos
vosotrospasasteis

subjunctive

present

él/ella/ustedpase
yopase
túpases
ellos/ellas/ustedespasen
nosotrospasemos
vosotrospaséis

imperfect

él/ella/ustedpasara
yopasara
túpasaras
ellos/ellas/ustedespasaran
nosotrospasáramos
vosotrospasarais
View All Tenses & Moods →

🔀 Commonly Confused With

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✏️ Quick Practice

Quick Quiz: pasar

Question 1 of 3

Which sentence means 'What's happening?'

📚 More Resources

👥 Word Family▼
🎵 Rhymes▼
📚 Etymology▼

Comes from the Latin word 'passus', which means 'a step' or 'a pace'. The idea of taking a step evolved into the idea of moving, going by, and eventually all the other related meanings we use today.

First recorded: Around the 10th century

Cognates (Related words)

English: passFrench: passerItalian: passarePortuguese: passar

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Frequently Asked Questions

What's the difference between '¿Qué pasa?' and '¿Qué tal?'

They can both be used as 'How's it going?' or 'What's up?'. However, '¿Qué pasa?' can also specifically mean 'What's happening?' or 'What's wrong?', especially if your tone of voice is concerned. '¿Qué tal?' is almost always just a friendly greeting.

How do I say 'I had a good time'?

You use the expression 'pasarlo bien'. For example, 'Lo pasé muy bien en la fiesta' means 'I had a very good time at the party'. To say you had a bad time, you'd use 'pasarlo mal'.

Is 'pasar' always regular?

Yes, it is! 'Pasar' is a regular -ar verb, which is great news. It follows all the standard conjugation patterns, so once you learn how to conjugate one regular -ar verb, you know how to conjugate 'pasar' in all tenses.