How to Say Eat in Spanish: Comer, Comerse and Meal Verbs
“To eat” in Spanish is comer, pronounced “koh-MEHR” with a single tapped r: Como fruta todos los días (I eat fruit every day). “I eat” is como, “I ate” is comí, and “Let’s eat!” is ¡A comer! or ¡Vamos a comer!
Two things trip learners up. First, Spanish has separate verbs for each meal (desayunar, almorzar, cenar), and in Spain and Mexico comer on its own often means “to have lunch”, the main meal of the day. Second, comerse (with a pronoun) means “to eat up” a specific thing. This page covers the conjugation, comer vs comerse, the meal verbs and how meal names change by country, “eat out” and other everyday phrases, idioms, a dialogue and a practice set with answers.
Comer in the present tense
Comer is a regular -er verb: take off -er and add the endings.
| Person | Present | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | como | I eat |
| tú | comes | you eat (informal) |
| vos | comés | you eat (informal, Argentina, Uruguay, Central America…) |
| él / ella / usted | come | he / she eats; you eat (formal) |
| nosotros / nosotras | comemos | we eat |
| vosotros / vosotras | coméis | you all eat (Spain, informal) |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | comen | they eat; you all eat |
The present also covers “I’m eating” in many situations (¿Qué comes?, What are you eating?), though for something happening right this minute Spanish often uses estar comiendo: No puedo hablar, estoy comiendo.
Comer in the past: comí and comía
The preterite (simple past) is for a meal or an act of eating that is finished:
| Person | Preterite | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | comí | I ate |
| tú | comiste | you ate |
| él / ella / usted | comió | he / she / you ate |
| nosotros / nosotras | comimos | we ate |
| vosotros / vosotras | comisteis | you all ate (Spain) |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | comieron | they / you all ate |
The written accents on comí and comió are not decoration: comio without one is simply misspelled. The imperfect, comía, describes habits and background (“used to eat”, “was eating”): De niño comía muchas lentejas. And unlike -ar verbs, where hablamos means both “we speak” and “we spoke”, comer keeps the two apart: comemos (we eat), comimos (we ate). For the full past-tense picture with more examples, see eat in Spanish: past tense.
Other forms you will need
| Form | Spanish | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Future | comeré, comerás, comerá… | Comeremos a las dos. (We’ll eat at two.) |
| Near future | voy a comer | Voy a comer con mi madre. |
| Conditional | comería | Yo no comería eso. |
| Present perfect | he comido | ¿Ya has comido? |
| Gerund | comiendo | Estamos comiendo. |
| Commands (tú / usted / ustedes) | come / coma / coman | ¡Come, que se enfría! (Eat up, it’s getting cold!) |
| Negative command (tú) | no comas | No comas tan rápido. |
| Present subjunctive | coma, comas, coma… | Quiero que comas algo. |
Spain often uses the present perfect for something that happened today, so ¿Ya has comido? is the usual “Have you eaten yet?” there, while most of Latin America says ¿Ya comiste? Both are understood everywhere.
Comer or comerse?
Comerse is comer plus a reflexive pronoun (me, te, se…). It adds the idea of eating all of a particular thing, or eating it with gusto, a bit like English “eat up” or “polish off”:
- Comí pizza. (I had pizza.) Just what you ate.
- Me comí la pizza. (I ate the pizza, all of it.)
- Se comió tres tacos en cinco minutos. (He polished off three tacos in five minutes.)
- ¿Quién se ha comido mis galletas? (Who’s eaten my biscuits?)
Because comerse is about a specific amount, it needs a defined object: la pizza, una manzana, tres tacos. With a bare noun, use plain comer: Comí manzanas, not Me comí manzanas. With pronouns, the reflexive comes first: Me la comí (I ate it all), and in commands both attach to the verb: ¡Cómetelo! (Eat it up!). The accent keeps the stress where it was.
Comerse also has figurative uses: comerse las uñas (to bite your nails) and comerse una letra (to leave out a letter when writing). There is more on these pronouns in Spanish reflexive pronouns.
Meal verbs: desayunar, almorzar, comer, merendar, cenar
Instead of “eat breakfast” or “have dinner”, Spanish uses one verb per meal, and you can put the food straight after it:
| Verb | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| desayunar | to have breakfast | Desayuno café con tostadas. (I have coffee and toast for breakfast.) |
| almorzar (o→ue: almuerzo) | to have lunch; in some places a mid-morning meal | Almorzamos en la oficina. |
| comer | to eat; also “to have lunch” in Spain and Mexico | ¿A qué hora coméis? (What time do you have lunch?) |
| merendar (e→ie: meriendo) | to have an afternoon snack | Los niños meriendan un bocadillo. |
| cenar | to have dinner, supper | Cenamos tarde, sobre las diez. |
The nouns are el desayuno, el almuerzo, la comida, la merienda and la cena. Watch the stem changes: it is almuerzo and meriendo, not “almorzo” or “merendo”. You will also hear me desayuno in some regions, but plain desayuno is the form to learn.
Comida, almuerzo, cena: what they mean where
Meal names follow local habits, so the same word can point to different meals. These are broad patterns, and families vary:
- Spain: la comida is the main meal, usually between two and three in the afternoon, and comer means having it. El almuerzo means a mid-morning snack in many regions and lunch in others. La cena is the evening meal, often at nine or later.
- Mexico: la comida is also the big meal, in mid-afternoon. El almuerzo often means a late, filling breakfast or brunch. La cena is usually lighter.
- Much of Central and South America: el almuerzo and almorzar are the normal words for lunch. In Colombia, la comida is commonly the evening meal. In Chile, people toman once, a light evening tea.
Because la comida also simply means “food”, context does most of the work: La comida está lista is “Lunch (or the food) is ready”. If you are invited somewhere, asking ¿A qué hora coméis? or ¿A qué hora comen? avoids any confusion. For the noun side of things, see how to say “food” in Spanish.
Eat out, grab a bite and other everyday phrases
| English | Spanish | Note |
|---|---|---|
| to eat out | comer fuera / comer afuera / salir a comer | fuera is usual in Spain, afuera in much of Latin America. |
| to eat at home | comer en casa | |
| to grab a bite, to nibble | picar algo | ¿Picamos algo antes del cine? |
| to snack (Mexico) | botanear | una botana = a snack |
| to eat healthily | comer sano | Intento comer sano entre semana. |
| to feed | dar de comer a | Le doy de comer al gato. |
| to try, to taste | probar | ¿Has probado el mole? |
| to chew / to swallow | masticar / tragar | Mastica bien antes de tragar. |
| I’m hungry. | Tengo hambre. | Not estoy hambre. |
| Enjoy your meal! | ¡Buen provecho! / ¡Que aproveche! | Said to people eating, even strangers in a restaurant in Spain. |
| Food’s ready! / Come and eat! | ¡A comer! | What every parent shouts at lunchtime. |
| takeaway, to go | para llevar | Dos cafés para llevar. |
In formal or medical language you will meet ingerir (to ingest) and alimentarse (to feed oneself, to eat): Es importante alimentarse bien. In a restaurant, “to order” is pedir: ¿Qué vas a pedir?
Idioms with comer
- Comer como un pajarito: to eat like a bird, very little.
- Comer como una lima (Spain): to eat like a horse.
- Comerse el coco or comerse la cabeza (Spain, informal): to overthink, to worry yourself sick about something.
- Sin comerlo ni beberlo (Spain): through no doing of your own. Sin comerlo ni beberlo, me tocó organizar la fiesta (Somehow I ended up organising the party).
- Comerse a alguien con los ojos: to devour someone with your eyes.
- ¿Con qué se come eso?: “What on earth is that?” about something unfamiliar.
Common mistakes
| Instead of | Say | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Estoy hambre. | Tengo hambre. | Hunger uses tener. |
| Me comí manzanas. | Comí manzanas. / Me comí las manzanas. | comerse needs a specific object. |
| Como el desayuno a las ocho. | Desayuno a las ocho. | Use the meal verb. (Tomar el desayuno is also fine.) |
| Almorzo a la una. | Almuerzo a la una. | almorzar changes o → ue. |
| Comio mucho. | Comió mucho. | The accent marks the past tense. |
| Es importante que comes bien. | Es importante que comas bien. | Subjunctive after es importante que. |
A short dialogue
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Ana: ¿Ya comiste? | Have you eaten yet? |
| Luis: No, solo desayuné un café. Tengo un hambre… | No, I only had a coffee for breakfast. I’m starving. |
| Ana: ¿Comemos fuera? Hay un sitio nuevo de tacos aquí cerca. | Shall we eat out? There’s a new taco place near here. |
| Luis: ¡Perfecto! Pero no pidas tanto como la última vez. | Perfect! But don’t order as much as last time. |
| Ana: ¡Si te comiste tú casi todo! | But you ate nearly all of it! |
| Luis: Bueno, es verdad. Hoy como poco, que luego ceno con mis padres. | Well, that’s true. I’ll eat light today, because I’m having dinner with my parents later. |
Practice
Fill each gap with the right form of comer, comerse or a meal verb.
- Yo ______ verduras casi todos los días. (comer, present)
- Ayer nosotros ______ en casa de mi abuela. (comer, past)
- ¿Quién ______ el último trozo de pastel? (comerse, past, he/she)
- Normalmente ______ a las ocho de la mañana. (to have breakfast, I)
- Los domingos ______ pescado con mi familia. (almorzar, we)
- No ______ tan rápido. (comer, negative command, tú)
- ¿Te apetece ______ fuera esta noche? (cenar)
- Tengo ______. ¿Hay algo de comer? (I’m hungry)
- Cuando era niña, ______ mucho arroz. (comer, used to, I)
- ¡Buen ______! (Enjoy your meal!)
Answers: 1. como. 2. comimos. 3. se comió. 4. desayuno. 5. almorzamos. 6. comas. 7. cenar. 8. hambre. 9. comía. 10. provecho.
Quick answers
How do you say “I eat” in Spanish?
Como: Como mucha fruta. “I ate” is comí and “I’m eating” is estoy comiendo.
Is comer regular?
Yes. It is a regular -er verb in every tense, which makes it a good model for others like beber (to drink) and aprender (to learn).
What is the difference between comer and comerse?
Comer is “to eat”; comerse is “to eat up” a specific thing, all of it: Me comí el bocadillo.
How do you say “to eat out” in Spanish?
Comer fuera (Spain), comer afuera (much of Latin America) or salir a comer (everywhere).
How do you say “let’s eat” in Spanish?
¡A comer! or ¡Vamos a comer! The form comamos exists but sounds more formal. More everyday words are in the Spanish vocabulary hub.
