preocupar

Asturian

Verb

preocupar

1. to worry

Conjugation

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin praeoccupāre (“to preoccupy”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central)
• IPA^(key): (Balearic)
• IPA^(key): (Valencian)

Verb

preocupar (first-person singular present preocupo, first-person singular preterite preocupí, past participle preocupat)

1. to worry, to concern (someone)
2. (reflexive) to be worried

   No et preocupis, sigues feliç!

   Don't worry, be happy!

Conjugation

Derived terms

• preocupar-se

Related terms

• ocupar
• preocupació

Portuguese

Alternative forms

• preoccupar (obsolete)

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin praeoccupāre (“to preoccupy”).

Pronunciation

Verb

preocupar (first-person singular present preocupo, first-person singular preterite preocupei, past participle preocupado)

1. (intransitive) to worry; to concern (to cause someone, or people in general, to feel worried)

   As taxas de homicídio daqui preocupam.

   The homicide rates in this place are concerning.

2. (takes a reflexive pronoun, intransitive, or transitive with com) to worry (about)

   Não se preocupe com o que seus inimigos dizem.

   Don’t worry about what your enemies say.

3. (reflexive) to worry (to be concerned or troubled)

Conjugation

Related terms

• ocupar
• preocupação
• preocupado
• preocupante

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin praeoccupāre (“to preoccupy”). Cognate with English preoccupy.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pɾeokuˈpaɾ/
• Rhymes: -aɾ
• Syllabification: pre‧o‧cu‧par

Verb

preocupar (first-person singular present preocupo, first-person singular preterite preocupé, past participle preocupado)

1. (transitive) to worry, to concern, to trouble, to be worrisome to, to preoccupy

   Me preocupa que esos muchachos estén afuera.

   It worries me that those guys are outside.

   Su silencio me preocupa, Doctor.

   Your silence troubles me, Doctor.

   A la novia de Juan no la preocupaba el chihuahua hasta que empezó a morderle los pies.

   The chihuahua didn't worry Juan's girlfriend until it started biting her feet.

2. (reflexive) to fret, to worry about/over, to be worried about/over, to be concerned about/over, to be troubled about/over, to care about (+ por usually, + de occasionally)

   Sabes, también me preocupo por ella.

   I care about her too, you know.

   No te preocupes por los detalles.

   Don't worry about the details.

   Me preocupo de que esos muchachos están afuera.

   I'm concerned about those guys being outside.

   La novia de Juan no se preocupaba del chihuahua hasta que empezó a morderle los pies.

   Juan's girlfriend wasn't worried about the chihuahua until it started biting her feet.

Usage notes

• As demonstrated in the examples above, the transitive and pronominal intransitive constructions have similar meanings, but subtle differences in their usage:
  • The transitive form simply requires a subject and object. Technically this should be a direct object, but it is very common in the Spanish-speaking world to use indirect pronouns.
    • Using a preposition to introduce the subject causing the worry is an example of dequeísmo.
  • The pronominal form requires the use of a preposition to clarify what is causing the worry or concern. The most common prepositions used in this situation are por and de. Less common, but still valid, is con.
    • Excluding a preposition to introduce the cause of the worry is an example of queísmo.

Conjugation

Related terms

References

Further reading

• “preocupar”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014
• “preocupar” in Diccionario panhispánico de dudas, segunda edición, Real Academia Española, 2023. →ISBN