How to Say "discovered" in Spanish
The most common Spanish word for “discovered” is “descubrió” — use this when referring to the act of finding something new or previously unknown, especially in a past event..
descubrió
Examples
El explorador descubrió una isla remota en el Pacífico.
The explorer discovered a remote island in the Pacific.
encontró
Examples
Ella encontró la respuesta al problema después de pensarlo mucho.
She found the answer to the problem after thinking about it a lot.
descubierto
des-koo-BYER-toh/deskuˈβjeɾto/
Examples
El secreto ha sido descubierto por el detective.
The secret has been discovered by the detective.
Hemos descubierto un nuevo restaurante en el centro.
We have discovered a new restaurant downtown.
El misterio fue descubierto por la policía.
The mystery was discovered by the police.
The Irregular Participle
'Descubierto' is an irregular past participle because it does not follow the standard '-ido' ending. You simply must memorize this form for the verb 'descubrir'.
Use with 'Haber'
When used with the helping verb 'haber' (like in 'he descubierto'), the participle never changes its ending; it always stays 'descubierto', regardless of the gender or number of the subject or object.
Changing the Ending with 'Haber'
Mistake: “Hemos descubierta la verdad.”
Correction: Hemos descubierto la verdad. (The participle only changes when used as a standard adjective or with 'ser/estar' in the passive/state.)
Descubrió vs. Encontró
Related Translations
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