preocupar

preocupar

1. to worry

Borrowed from Latin praeoccupāre (“to preoccupy”).

• IPA^(key): (Central) [pɾə.u.kuˈpa]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [pɾə.o.kuˈpa]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [pɾe.o.kuˈpaɾ]

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

1. to worry, to concern (someone)

   La preocupa el futur del seu nebot.

   She's worried about the future of her nephew. ; The future of her nephew worries her.

2. (reflexive) to be worried

   No et preocupis, sigues feliç!

   Don't worry, be happy!

• ocupar
• preocupació

• preoccupar (obsolete)

Learned borrowing from Latin praeoccupāre. By surface analysis, pré- +‎ ocupar.

• Rhymes: -a, -aʁ, -aɾ
• Hyphenation: pre‧o‧cu‧par

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

1. (transitive) to concern, worry (to cause concern to, cause unrest)

   As taxas de homicídio daqui preocupam.

   The homicide rates in this place are concerning.

2. (transitive) to absorb completely, make apprehensive
3. (pronominal) to worry [with com ‘about something’]

   Não se preocupe com o que seus inimigos dizem.

   Don't worry about what your enemies say.

4. (reflexive) to fear, worry (to be concerned or troubled)

• “preocupar”, in Dicionário infopédia da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2025
• “preocupar”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2025

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

• IPA^(key): /pɾeokuˈpaɾ/ [pɾe.o.kuˈpaɾ]
• Rhymes: -aɾ
• Syllabification: pre‧o‧cu‧par

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 care, to worry, to be concerned, to be troubled [with por or (occasionally) de ‘about someone/something’]

   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.

• As demonstrated in the examples above, the transitive and pronominal intransitive constructions have similar meanings, but subtle differences in their usage^[1]:
  • 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.

• “preocupar”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 10 December 2024
• “preocupar”, in Diccionario panhispánico de dudas [Panhispanic Dictionary of Doubts] (in Spanish), 2nd edition, Royal Spanish Academy; Association of Academies of the Spanish Language, 2023, →ISBN