You are in a conversation and your friend shouts ¡Dime! into her phone before she even says hello — and you realize that dime (tell me) is the reflexive imperative of decir. Its base, di, is one of eight tú commands that Spanish does not build the usual way. If you have ever typed dice instead of di when giving someone a command, this guide will fix that permanently.
Two things about decir that trip up intermediate learners: (1) the tú imperative is di — not dice, not decí, not decir. (2) When decir introduces reported speech, the tense of the embedded verb changes: 'Dijo que venía' not 'Dijo que viene.' This guide covers both.
This guide covers the full imperative paradigm of decir (affirmative and negative across all six persons), the tense-backshift rule for reported speech introduced by dijo que and ha dicho que, the contrast between decir que + indicative (reporting information) and decir que + subjunctive (reporting an instruction), and the most productive fixed phrases built on decir.
What Decir Means — and When to Use It
Decir means to say or to tell. The English gloss misses one Spanish subtlety: decir targets the content of communication — what is said or told — while hablar (to speak, to talk) targets the act of communicating or speaking a language. Contar (to count, to narrate) overlaps with decir when telling a story, but decir is the more general verb. If you can substitute 'say' or 'tell' in the English version, decir is your Spanish word.
- Saying something: Dijo algo importante. (He said something important.)
- Telling someone something: Me dijo que vendría. (She told me she would come.)
- Relaying an instruction: Le dije que guardara silencio. (I told him to keep quiet.)
- Fixed phrase clarifying meaning: ¿Qué quieres decir con eso? (What do you mean by that?)
- Discourse connector: Es decir, no hay presupuesto. (That is to say, there is no budget.)
| Verb + core meaning | Use and example |
|---|---|
| Decir — to say, to tell | Content of speech or instruction. Dijo que llegaría tarde. |
| Hablar — to speak, to talk | Act of speaking; speaking a language. Habla tres idiomas con fluidez. |
| Contar — to narrate, to tell | Stories, news, events. Nos contó una historia increíble. |
The Tú Imperative: 'Di,' Not 'Dice'
The regular tú affirmative imperative in Spanish is built from the third-person singular of the present indicative: hablar → habla, comer → come, vivir → vive. Following that rule, decir should produce dice — and that is exactly the mistake many learners make. Decir belongs to a small set of eight common verbs with irregular tú imperatives. These forms must be memorised as a list: they do not follow the standard pattern.
The eight irregular tú affirmative imperatives are: di (decir), haz (hacer), ve (ir/ver), pon (poner), sal (salir), sé (ser), ten (tener), ven (venir). All are short — often monosyllabic — which reflects how these high-frequency verbs evolved in spoken use. The form di is always the right choice for decir in an informal command, with no exceptions.
Memory device for the eight irregular tú imperatives: Di Haz Ve Pon Sal Sé Ten Ven. One-syllable commands built for speed. For decir: always di, never dice.
| Person + affirmative | Negative |
|---|---|
| tú → di | no digas |
| usted → diga | no diga |
| nosotros → digamos | no digamos |
| vosotros → decid | no digáis |
| ustedes → digan | no digan |
Affirmative imperatives — the dig- stem
The tú form di is irregular. All other affirmative forms are built from the present subjunctive stem dig-: diga (usted), digamos (nosotros), digan (ustedes). The exception is vosotros, which follows the standard pattern of replacing the infinitive -r with -d: decir → decid. The vosotros imperative is used only in Spain and is always regular in its formation.
Negative imperatives — always from the subjunctive
All negative imperative forms — including the tú form — come from the present subjunctive: no digas (tú), no diga (usted), no digamos (nosotros), no digáis (vosotros), no digan (ustedes). Note that the tú negative is no digas, not no di — the affirmative di and the negative no digas are completely different forms and must be learned separately.
- Di la verdad. = Tell the truth. (tú affirmative)
- No digas mentiras. = Do not tell lies. (tú negative)
- Dígame su nombre. = Tell me your name. (usted — also the classic phone greeting ¡Dígame!)
- Digamos que es complicado. = Let us say it is complicated. (nosotros as exhortation)
- Decid qué pasó. = Tell [us] what happened. (vosotros, Spain)
- Digan todos su opinión. = Let everyone give their opinion. (ustedes)
- Dime, ¿qué quieres? = Tell me, what do you want? (informal — also used as a greeting meaning 'yes?' or 'go ahead')
- No le digas nada todavía. = Do not tell him anything yet.
Decir in Reported Speech: Dijo Que…
Reported speech — estilo indirecto in Spanish — is how you convey what someone said without directly quoting them. Decir is the standard reporting verb: dijo que, dice que, ha dicho que. The critical rule: when the reporting verb is in a past tense (dijo, decía, ha dicho in its 'just said' sense), the tense of the embedded clause shifts backward in time.
The tense-backshift rule for dijo que: present indicative → imperfect indicative. Preterite → pluperfect. Future → conditional. Examples: 'Voy al mercado' → Dijo que iba al mercado. 'Lo hice ayer' → Dijo que lo había hecho el día anterior. 'Llamaré mañana' → Dijo que llamaría al día siguiente.
When the reporting verb is in the present tense — dice que, or ha dicho que in the sense of a recent and still-current statement — no tense shift is needed. Dice que está cansado simply reports a present fact. The backshift applies only when the decir verb is in a past tense and the information reported is no longer necessarily current.
| Direct → Reported (dijo que) | Example conversion |
|---|---|
| Present indicative → Imperfect | 'Tengo hambre.' → Dijo que tenía hambre. |
| Preterite → Pluperfect | 'Lo compré.' → Dijo que lo había comprado. |
| Future simple → Conditional | 'Vendré mañana.' → Dijo que vendría al día siguiente. |
| Present subjunctive → Imperfect subjunctive | 'Quiero que vengas.' → Dijo que quería que fuera. |
| Present progressive → Imperfect progressive | 'Estoy trabajando.' → Dijo que estaba trabajando. |
Changing pronouns and time markers
Tenses are not the only thing that shifts in reported speech. First-person and second-person pronouns flip depending on who was speaking and who is reporting. Time and place markers also change: hoy (today) → ese día (that day), ayer (yesterday) → el día anterior, mañana (tomorrow) → al día siguiente, aquí (here) → allí (there). Getting these right makes reported speech sound genuinely fluent rather than grammatically half-converted.
- 'Te llamaré esta tarde.' → Dijo que me llamaría esa tarde.
- 'Vengo aquí todos los días.' → Dijo que iba allí todos los días.
- 'Hice el trabajo ayer.' → Dijo que había hecho el trabajo el día anterior.
- '¿Puedes ayudarme?' → Me preguntó si podía ayudarle.
- 'Estoy muy contento aquí.' → Dijo que estaba muy contento allí.
Dijo Que vs Ha Dicho Que
Spanish has two past forms of decir that introduce reported speech: dijo que (pretérito indefinido) and ha dicho que (pretérito perfecto). The choice follows the normal rules for these tenses. Dijo que is used for reports of events clearly in the past, with no connection to the present moment — often with a specific past time marker. Ha dicho que reports something recent that is still relevant now, often something said moments ago.
| Form + when to use | Example |
|---|---|
| Dijo que + imperfect — past report, event complete | Ayer me dijo que estaba cansado. |
| Ha dicho que + present — recent statement, still current | Ha dicho que viene ahora mismo. |
| Dice que + present — report of a current fact | Dice que no quiere venir. |
Decir Que: Indicative vs Subjunctive
Decir que can introduce either the indicative or the subjunctive, and the choice changes the meaning completely. Decir que + indicative reports information: Dice que está en casa means she says she is at home — a reported fact. Decir que + subjunctive conveys a reported instruction or order: Le dice que esté en casa means she tells him to be at home — she is instructing him. This distinction trips up learners who know that verbs like pedir, querer, and prohibir always require the subjunctive.
The core rule: decir que + indicative = reporting what someone said (information). Decir que + subjunctive = reporting what someone told someone to do (instruction). 'Dijo que venía' — he said he was coming (fact). 'Dijo que vinieras' — he told you to come (order).
- Dice que tiene fiebre. = She says she has a fever. (reporting a fact — indicative)
- Me dice que tenga paciencia. = She tells me to be patient. (passing on an instruction — subjunctive)
- Dijo que el tren llegaba a las cinco. = He said the train arrived at five. (reported fact — indicative)
- Me dijo que llegara a las cinco. = He told me to arrive at five. (reported order — subjunctive)
- Ha dicho que todo está listo. = She has said everything is ready. (reported fact — indicative)
- Le ha dicho que lo limpie. = She has told him to clean it. (reported order — subjunctive)
Key Decir Idioms and Fixed Phrases
Querer decir — to mean
Querer decir is the standard Spanish phrase for 'to mean' in conversational contexts. ¿Qué quieres decir? (What do you mean?) is more natural than ¿Qué significa? (What does it mean?) when asking someone to clarify their own words. Quiero decir introduces a self-correction or clarification: No fue fácil, quiero decir que fue imposible. (It was not easy — I mean it was impossible.) Lo que quiero decir es que... (What I mean is that...) softens a difficult message.
Es decir — that is to say
Es decir (that is to say, i.e.) is one of the most useful discourse connectors in Spanish. It introduces a clarification, restatement, or summary of what was just said. It is always followed by a comma and the clarifying phrase: No tenemos presupuesto, es decir, el proyecto no puede seguir adelante. Unlike o sea (its colloquial equivalent), es decir is appropriate in all registers, including formal writing and presentations.
Fixed phrases with decir
- Es decir = that is to say, i.e. (formal clarifier, all registers)
- O sea = I mean, that is (colloquial equivalent of es decir)
- Querer decir = to mean (¿Qué quieres decir con eso?)
- Lo que quiero decir es que... = What I mean is that...
- Ni que decir tiene = it goes without saying (Ni que decir tiene que fue un éxito.)
- Dicho esto = having said that (formal written transition)
- Lo dicho = what I said, what was agreed (Lo dicho: mañana a las diez.)
- Por decirlo así = so to speak (Es un nómada digital, por decirlo así.)
- ¡Dímelo a mí! = Tell me about it! (expressing solidarity with a complaint)
- ¿Cómo se dice...? = How do you say...? (the classic learner phrase)
| Expression + meaning | Example |
|---|---|
| Querer decir — to mean | ¿Qué quiere decir 'añoranza'? |
| Es decir — that is to say | Es tarde, es decir, nos vamos. |
| Ni que decir tiene — it goes without saying | Ni que decir tiene que fue un éxito. |
| ¡Dímelo a mí! — tell me about it! | — El metro estaba lleno. — ¡Dímelo a mí! |
| Lo dicho — what was agreed | Lo dicho: mañana a las diez. |
| Por decirlo así — so to speak | Es un nómada digital, por decirlo así. |
Common Mistakes with Decir
Three errors to fix immediately: (1) Writing 'dice' as the tú imperative — di is always correct. (2) Omitting the tense backshift: 'Dijo que viene' should be 'Dijo que venía.' (3) Using indicative when reporting an order: 'Le dije que estudia' (fact) vs 'Le dije que estudiara' (instruction — the correct form when telling someone to do something).
- Dice → di: '¡Dice la verdad!' is not a valid tú command. Write '¡Di la verdad!' (tú) or '¡Diga la verdad!' (usted).
- Tense backshift omitted: 'Me dijo que viene mañana' sounds unnatural — since dijo is past, the embedded verb must shift: 'Me dijo que vendría al día siguiente.'
- Indicative vs subjunctive: 'Te digo que hagas la tarea' (I am telling you to do the homework — subjunctive, order) vs 'Te digo que la tarea está lista' (I am telling you the homework is ready — indicative, fact).
- Decir vs hablar: 'Habla que vendrás' is ungrammatical — hablar cannot introduce reported speech. Use 'Dice que vendrás.'
- Dime vs dígame: dime is the tú form (informal) and dígame is the usted form (formal). Both mean 'tell me' or 'go ahead', but mismatching the register — dime to a stranger, dígame to a close friend — creates a noticeable social mismatch.
Practice: Decir in Action
Practice 1
Give the tú affirmative imperative of decir.
Di.
The tú imperative is irregular — di, not dice. It belongs to the eight one-syllable irregular tú commands: di, haz, ve, pon, sal, sé, ten, ven.
Practice 2
Give the usted negative imperative of decir.
No diga.
All negative imperatives come from the present subjunctive. Usted subjunctive = diga → no diga.
Practice 3
Convert to reported speech: 'Tengo mucho trabajo.' → Dijo que...
Dijo que tenía mucho trabajo.
Present indicative (tengo) shifts to imperfect indicative (tenía) in reported speech introduced by a past-tense dijo.
Practice 4
Is this reporting a fact or giving an order? 'Le dije que estudiara.'
Giving an order — the subjunctive (estudiara) signals a reported instruction.
Compare: 'Le dije que estudiaba' (imperfect indicative) would mean 'I told him that he was studying' — a reported fact.
Practice 5
Translate into Spanish: 'She told me not to say anything.'
Me dijo que no dijera nada.
A negative reported order: dijo + que + imperfect subjunctive (no dijera). The subjunctive is required because it is an instruction, not information.
Practice 6
What does '¿Qué quiere decir esa palabra?' mean?
What does that word mean?
Querer decir is the standard way to ask about meaning in context — more natural than '¿Qué significa?' when asking a person to explain their own words.
Keep Practising with MuyVerbs
Decir's irregular imperative di and its tense-backshift behaviour in reported speech both become automatic once you have seen them enough times in context. The critical habits to build are reaching for di instead of dice, and applying the backshift rule whenever dijo que introduces a past statement. Both patterns are drilled in the MuyVerbs quiz and learning path in real-sentence context.
For the full conjugation of decir — including the irregular yo present digo, the preterite dij- stem (dije, dijiste, dijo, dijimos, dijisteis, dijeron), and the future stem dir- (diré, dirás) — visit /spanish-verbs/decir-conjugation/. The 3,015-verb library covers all irregular verb patterns, and the verb pages for hacer, poner, and salir also show how their one-syllable tú imperatives relate to their full conjugation.
What is the tú imperative of decir in Spanish?
The tú affirmative imperative of decir is di. It is an irregular form — not dice, which is the third-person singular present indicative. Decir is one of eight common Spanish verbs with irregular one-syllable tú imperatives: di (decir), haz (hacer), ve (ir), pon (poner), sal (salir), sé (ser), ten (tener), ven (venir). The negative tú form is no digas.
Why is the imperative of decir 'di' and not 'dice'?
The regular rule for tú affirmative imperatives is to use the third-person singular of the present indicative — for decir that would be dice. However, decir is one of eight verbs that have irregular tú imperative forms that do not follow this rule. The form di must be memorised. The origin is historical: Latin dic became a monosyllabic command that survived into modern Spanish as di.
How does dijo que change the tenses in reported speech?
When dijo que introduces reported speech, the embedded verb shifts one tense backward: present indicative becomes imperfect (tengo → tenía), preterite becomes pluperfect (hice → había hecho), future becomes conditional (vendré → vendría), and present subjunctive becomes imperfect subjunctive. Time markers also change: hoy → ese día, mañana → al día siguiente, aquí → allí. When dice que (present tense) introduces reported speech, no tense shift is needed.
What is the difference between decir que + indicative and decir que + subjunctive?
Decir que + indicative reports what someone said (information): Dice que está en casa (she says she is at home — a fact). Decir que + subjunctive reports what someone told someone to do (an instruction): Le dice que esté en casa (she tells him to be at home — an order). The distinction is the same as the difference between 'she said that...' and 'she told him to...'
What is the difference between decir and hablar in Spanish?
Decir means to say or to tell — it focuses on the content of communication. Hablar means to speak or to talk — it focuses on the act of speaking or on speaking a language. You use decir to report what was said (me dijo que venía), and hablar to describe the act of speaking (habla tres idiomas). Only decir can introduce reported speech with que.
What does 'es decir' mean in Spanish?
Es decir means 'that is to say' or 'i.e.' It is a discourse connector used to introduce a clarification, restatement, or summary of what was just said. It is followed by a comma: Llegaron tarde, es decir, perdieron el tren. It is more formal than its colloquial equivalent o sea and is appropriate in all registers including written Spanish.
What does 'querer decir' mean in Spanish?
Querer decir means 'to mean.' It is the standard conversational phrase for asking or explaining meaning: ¿Qué quieres decir? (What do you mean?) or Quiero decir que no fue fácil (What I mean is that it was not easy). Use querer decir when asking a person to explain their own words. ¿Qué significa? is more appropriate for asking about the definition of a word in isolation.