How to Say "yearned for" in Spanish

The Spanish word for “yearned for” is “faltaba” — B1 level. This is a very common word in everyday Spanish.

English → SpanishB1

faltaba

Verb (Imperfect Tense)B1

strong emotional lack

A small, sad child sitting alone on a park bench, gazing wistfully at the empty space beside them, feeling the absence of a companion.

Examples

Después de mudarse, le faltaba la tranquilidad del campo.

After moving, she missed the tranquility of the countryside. (Literally: The tranquility of the countryside was lacking to her.)

A pesar de tener amigos, me faltaba mi mejor amigo de la infancia.

Despite having friends, I missed my best friend from childhood.

Emotional Missing

When 'faltar' means 'to miss' someone, the person feeling the emotion is indicated by an indirect pronoun (me, te, le, etc.), and the person/thing being missed is the subject ('faltaba').

Direct Translation Error

Mistake: “Saying 'Yo faltaba a mi familia.'”

Correction: Say 'Me faltaba mi familia.' The structure is reversed from English; the family is the subject, not the object.

See full entry for “faltaba” →

Related Translations

remained→was lacking→was left→was missing→was needed→

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