How to Say "they pay" in Spanish
The Spanish word for “they pay” is “pagan” — A1 level. This is a very common word in everyday Spanish.
Examples
Los clientes pagan con tarjeta de crédito.
The clients pay by credit card.
¿A qué hora pagan los empleados hoy?
What time do the employees get paid today?
Ustedes pagan la mitad, nosotros pagamos la otra mitad.
You all pay half, we pay the other half.
Subject Omission
Because the verb form 'pagan' clearly indicates 'they' or 'you all,' you often don't need to say 'ellos' or 'ustedes' in Spanish. The verb does the job!
The 'G' Sound Rule
When conjugating 'pagar,' the letter 'g' changes to 'gu' before the letter 'e' (like in 'pagué' or 'pague') to keep the hard 'g' sound. If it stayed 'g,' it would sound like an 'h' (pa-heh).
Using 'for' in English
Mistake: “Pagan por la cena. (literal translation of 'They pay for dinner')”
Correction: Pagan la cena. (The preposition 'por' is usually not needed when paying for a specific item.)
Related Translations
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