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How to Say "crying" in Spanish

The Spanish word forcryingis llorandoA1 level. This is a very common word in everyday Spanish.

English → SpanishA1
Verb (Gerund)A1
The action of shedding tears
A close-up illustration of a young child's face with visible tears streaming down their cheeks, depicting sadness.

Examples

¿Por qué estás llorando? ¿Te duele algo?

Why are you crying? Does something hurt you?

Pasó toda la noche llorando después de ver la película triste.

She spent the whole night crying after watching the sad movie.

Llegó al trabajo llorando y nadie sabía qué había pasado.

He arrived at work crying and nobody knew what had happened.

Action in Progress

This form, ending in -ando (or -iendo), tells you that an action is happening right now or was happening at a specific moment. It's the Spanish equivalent of English verbs ending in -ing.

Using it with 'Estar'

The most common way to use 'llorando' is with the verb 'estar' (to be) to form the continuous tense: 'estoy llorando' (I am crying), 'estaba llorando' (I was crying).

Confusing Gerund and Infinitive

Mistake:Using 'Es importante llorar' when you mean 'It is important to cry' (the general action), but incorrectly using 'Es importante llorando' (meaning 'It is important crying').

Correction: Remember that 'llorando' describes an action *in progress* or *how* an action is done. For general actions or after verbs like 'to be able to,' use the infinitive 'llorar'.

Related Translations

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