Inklingo

How to Say "to convene" in Spanish

The most common Spanish word for “to convene” is “reunirse” — use 'reunirse' when people are coming together for a specific, often planned, occasion, like a social gathering or a casual meeting.

English → Spanish

reunirse

rreh-oo-NEER-sehreuˈniɾse

VerbA2Informal to Neutral
Use 'reunirse' when people are coming together for a specific, often planned, occasion, like a social gathering or a casual meeting.
A high quality storybook illustration showing two stylized figures, one in a blue shirt and one in a red shirt, standing face-to-face and shaking hands firmly.

Examples

Nos reuniremos en el café a las tres.

We will meet at the cafe at three o'clock.

Siempre se reúnen para celebrar el Año Nuevo.

They always gather to celebrate New Year's.

¿Cuándo te vas a reunir con el jefe?

When are you going to meet with the boss?

The Reflexive Action

The '-se' at the end means the action reflects back onto the subject. If you use the verb 'reunir' (without -se), it means 'to gather something else,' but 'reunirse' means 'to gather yourselves together.'

The Special Accent

In the present tense (like 'yo me reúno'), the accent over the 'u' is essential. It forces the 'u' and 'i' to be pronounced separately (re-Ú-no), not as a quick glide.

Forgetting the Reflexive Pronoun

Mistake: “Yo reúno con mi familia.”

Correction: Yo ME reúno con mi familia. (You must include 'me, te, se, nos, os, se' before the verb, depending on who is meeting.)

convocar

kon-bo-karkomboˈkaɾ

VerbB1Formal
Use 'convocar' when someone in authority is officially calling people together for a formal meeting or assembly.
A group of people standing together in a circle, looking at each other as if starting a meeting.

Examples

El director va a convocar una reunión de emergencia esta tarde.

The director is going to call an emergency meeting this afternoon.

Los trabajadores decidieron convocar una huelga para el lunes.

The workers decided to organize a strike for Monday.

El presidente tiene el poder de convocar elecciones anticipadas.

The president has the power to call early elections.

The 'c' to 'qu' switch

When saying 'I called' (yo convoqué), the 'c' changes to 'qu' to keep the hard 'k' sound. Without this change, it would sound like 's'.

Using the 'Personal A'

When you call specific people (like 'convocar a los vecinos'), you must use the word 'a' before the people being called.

Using 'llamar' for formal events

Mistake: “Llamar una huelga.”

Correction: Convocar una huelga. While 'llamar' means to call, 'convocar' is the specific word for officially calling for a protest or meeting.

Choosing Between 'convocar' and 'reunirse'

Learners often confuse 'convocar' and 'reunirse'. Remember that 'convocar' implies someone is actively calling or summoning people, usually for an official purpose, while 'reunirse' simply describes the act of people getting together.

Related Translations

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