# esperar
## Asturian
### Etymology

Inherited from Latin spērāre.

### Verb

esperar (first-person singular indicative present espero, past participle esperáu)
* to wait
* to hope
* to expect

#### Conjugation
## Catalan
### Etymology

Inherited from Latin spērāre.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: (Central, Balearic) [əs.pəˈɾa]
* IPA: (Valencia) [es.peˈɾaɾ]
* Audio:(file)
* Rhymes: -a(ɾ)

### Verb

esperar (first-person singular present espero, first-person singular preterite esperí, past participle esperat); root stress: (Central, Valencia, Balearic) /e/
* to wait, wait for, await
* to hope
* to expect
* (pronominal) to expect

#### Derived terms

* esperar-se

#### Related terms

* esperança

#### Further reading

* “esperar” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
* “esperar” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

## Galician
### Alternative forms

* asperar

### Etymology

Inherited from Old Galician-Portuguese asperar, from Latin spērō.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /espeˈɾaɾ/ [es̺.peˈɾaɾ]
* Rhymes: -aɾ

### Verb

esperar (first-person singular present espero, first-person singular preterite esperei, past participle esperado)
* to wait
    Synonym: agardar
* to hope

#### Conjugation

$^1$Less recommended.

#### Related terms

* espera
* esperanza

### References

* “esperar”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2025
* Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “esperar”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
* Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “esperar”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
* Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “esperar”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

## Ido
### Etymology

Borrowed from Esperanto esperi, French espérer, Italian sperare, Spanish esperar, all from Latin spērō.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /espeˈrar/

### Verb

esperar (present tense esperas, past tense esperis, future tense esperos, imperative esperez, conditional esperus)
* to hope

#### Derived terms

* desesperigar (“to drive to despair; to dishearten, depress, despond”)

## Occitan
### Etymology

From Old Occitan esperar, inherited from Latin spērāre.

### Pronunciation

* Audio (Béarn):(file)

### Verb

esperar
* to hope
* to wait

#### Related terms

* esperança

## Old Spanish
### Alternative forms

* asperar

### Etymology

Inherited from Latin spērāre.

### Verb

esperar
* to wait (for), await
** c. 1200, Almerich, La fazienda de ultramar, (published by Moshé Lazar, 1965, Salamanca: Universidad de Salamanca, page 211):En est logar dize Ysayas de Messias que esperan los Judios e non conoscen com es venido.In this place, Isaiah speaks of the Messiah whom the Jews await, and whom they don't know he [already] came.
* to hope, expect
** c. 1280, Alfonso X, General Estoria, tercera parte, (published by Pedro Sánchez-Prieto Borja and Bautista Horcajada Diezma, 1994, Madrid: Gredos):mientre fían en los ídolos, que son cosas sin entendimiento e sin alma, juran mal, e esperan que les non nozirá.While putting trust in idols, which are things without understanding nor soul, they wrongly make oaths and expect it will not harm them.
* to trust completely (in God)
** c. 1280, Alfonso X, General Estoria, tercera parte, (published by Pedro Sánchez-Prieto Borja and Bautista Horcajada Diezma, 1994, Madrid: Gredos):Toda palabra de Dios es escudo fecho con fuego para los que esperan en él.The word of God is a shield made of fire for those who trust in Him.

#### Descendants

* Ladino: asperar
* Spanish: esperar

### References

* Joan Coromines, José A[ntonio] Pascual (1984) “esperar”, in Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico [Critic Castilian and Hispanic Etymological Dictionary] (in Spanish), volume II (Ce–F), Madrid: Gredos, →ISBN, page 740

## Portuguese
### Etymology

Inherited from Old Galician-Portuguese asperar, from Latin spērō.

### Pronunciation

* (Brazil) IPA: /is.peˈɾa(ʁ)/ [is.peˈɾa(h)], /es.peˈɾa(ʁ)/ [es.peˈɾa(h)]
* (Brazil) IPA: /is.peˈɾa(ʁ)/ [is.peˈɾa(h)], /es.peˈɾa(ʁ)/ [es.peˈɾa(h)]
** (São Paulo) IPA: /is.peˈɾa(ɾ)/, /es.peˈɾa(ɾ)/
** (Rio de Janeiro) IPA: /iʃ.peˈɾa(ʁ)/ [iʃ.peˈɾa(χ)], /eʃ.peˈɾa(ʁ)/ [eʃ.peˈɾa(χ)]
** (Southern Brazil) IPA: /es.peˈɾa(ɻ)/
* (Portugal) IPA: /(i)ʃ.pɨˈɾaɾ/
* (Portugal) IPA: /(i)ʃ.pɨˈɾaɾ/
** (Southern Portugal) IPA: /(i)ʃ.pɨˈɾa.ɾi/
* Hyphenation: es‧pe‧rar

### Verb

esperar (first-person singular present espero, first-person singular preterite esperei, past participle esperado)
* to wait
** (transitive or intransitive) to wait (for); to await [with direct object or por ‘something’]
    Eu espero por sua resposta. ― I await your response.
    Fiquei esperando no carro. ― I waited in the car.
    Synonym: aguardar
** (catenative) to wait [with subject pronoun ‘for someone’ (optional) and personal infinitive ‘to do something’]
    Espere o João chegar. ― Wait for John to arrive.
    Espera que o João chegue. ― Wait for John to arrive.
    Synonym: aguardar
* to hope
** (intransitive) to hope for (to really want) [with por ‘something’]
    Eles esperam pelo fim da guerra. ― They hope for the end of the war.
** (transitive) to hope [with que (+ subjunctive clause) ‘that someone does something’]
    Espero que gostes do presente. ― I hope you like the gift.
** (catenative) to hope [with infinitive ‘to do something’; or with subject pronoun ‘for someone’ (optional) and personal infinitive ‘to something’]
    Esperávamos comer alguma coisa hoje. ― We were hoping to eat something today.
* to expect; to anticipate (to know or think that something will happen) [with direct object or por ‘something’]
    É melhor do que eu esperava. ― It is better than I expected.
    Eu já esperava por isso mesmo. ― I was expecting that anyway.
    Synonym: aguardar

#### Conjugation

$^1$Brazilian Portuguese. $^2$European Portuguese.

#### Related terms

* desesperado
* desesperar
* desespero
* espera
* esperança
* esperançoso

#### Further reading

* “esperar” in Dicionário Aberto based on Novo Diccionário da Língua Portuguesa de Cândido de Figueiredo, 1913

## Spanish
### Etymology

From Old Spanish esperar, inherited from Latin spērāre.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /espeˈɾaɾ/ [es.peˈɾaɾ]
* Audio:(file)
* Rhymes: -aɾ
* Syllabification: es‧pe‧rar

### Verb

esperar (first-person singular present espero, first-person singular preterite esperé, past participle esperado)
* (transitive or catenative) to hope [with direct object ‘for something’ or infinitive ‘to do something’ or que (+ subjunctive clause) ‘that something happens’]
    Synonym: tener esperanza de que
    esperar con interés ― to look forward to, to eagerly await
    En vano esperaron mejores días. ― They hoped for better days in vain.
    Esperamos llegar a viejos juntos. ― We hope we'll grow old together.
    Ella espera ya estar casada cuando tenga treinta. ― She hopes she'll be already married when she's 30 years old.
    Espera que no sea necesario. ― He hopes it won't be necessary.
* (transitive or catenative) to expect [with direct object ‘something’ or infinitive ‘to do something’ or que (+ indicative clause) ‘that something happens’]
    Synonym: anticipar
    Ellos esperan encontrar muchas dificultades. ― They expect to come across many hardships.
    Esperamos un clima adverso mañana. ― We're expecting unfavourable weather tomorrow.
    Los estudiantes esperan que no será fácil el examen. ― The students expect the exam won't be easy.
    Los huéspedes esperan que les ayudaremos. ― The guests expect we'll help them.
* (intransitive or transitive) to wait, wait (for) [(optionally) with direct object ‘for something’ or a que (+ subjunctive clause) ‘for something to happen’]
    Por favor espera aquí. ― Please wait here.
    Te he esperado por media hora. ― I have waited for you for half an hour.
    Espero con ansias tu llegada. ― I am anxiously waiting for your arrival.
    ¡Espera a que la conozcas en persona! ― Wait till you meet her in person!
    Estamos esperando a que se suavice la lluvia. ― We're waiting for the rain to get less heavy.
* (intransitive, reflexive) to wait, to hold on (reflexive for emphatic use)
    ¡Espera! ¡Espérate tantito! ― Wait! Hold on for a sec!
* (reflexive, impersonal) to be expected
    Se espera que el huracán llegue mañana. ― The hurricane is expected to come tomorrow.

#### Conjugation

$^1$Mostly obsolete, now mainly used in legal language. $^2$Argentine and Uruguayan voseo prefers the tú form for the present subjunctive.
These forms are generated automatically and may not actually be used. Pronoun usage varies by region.

#### Derived terms

* de aquí te espero
* el tiempo y la marea ni se paran ni esperan

#### Related terms

* asperar
* desesperar
* espera
* esperable
* esperado
* esperanza

#### See also

* aguardar
* ojalá

### Further reading

* “esperar”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10