How to Say "to pay" in Spanish
The Spanish word for “to pay” is “pagar” — A1 level. This is a very common word in everyday Spanish.
English → SpanishA1
VerbA1
exchanging money for goods or services
Examples
¿Puedo pagar con tarjeta de crédito?
Can I pay with a credit card?
Tengo que pagar el alquiler mañana.
I have to pay the rent tomorrow.
Yo pagué la cuenta la última vez, ahora te toca a ti.
I paid the bill last time, now it's your turn.
The 'g' to 'gu' Spelling Change
To keep the hard 'g' sound (like in 'go'), the spelling changes before an 'e'. That's why 'yo' in the preterite is 'pagué', not 'pagé'.
Using 'por' Like 'for'
Mistake: “Quiero pagar por la cena.”
Correction: Quiero pagar la cena. In Spanish, you usually don't need 'por' to say what you're paying for. You use 'por' to say *why* you're paying or how much: 'Pagué 20 euros por la cena'.
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