cambiar

Asturian

Etymology

From Old Leonese cambiar, from Vulgar Latin or Late Latin cambiāre, from change in conjugation of cambīre, present active infinitive of cambiō, of Gaulish origin.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kamˈbjaɾ/, [kãmˈbjaɾ]
• Rhymes: -aɾ
• Hyphenation: cam‧biar

Verb

cambiar (first-person singular indicative present cambio, past participle cambiáu)

1. to change
2. to exchange

Conjugation

Conjugation of cambiar

infinitive		cambiar
gerund		cambiando
past participle		m cambiáu, f cambiada, n cambiao, m pl cambiaos, f pl cambiaes
person		first singular yo	second singular tu	third singular él/elli	first plural nosotros/nós	second plural vosotros/vós	third plural ellos
indicative	present	cambio	cambies	cambia	cambiamos	cambiáis	cambien
	imperfect	cambiaba	cambiabes	cambiaba	cambiábemos, cambiábamos	cambiabeis, cambiabais	cambiaben
	preterite	cambié	cambiasti, cambiesti	cambió	cambiemos	cambiastis, cambiestis	cambiaron
	pluperfect	cambiare, cambiara	cambiares, cambiaras	cambiare, cambiara	cambiáremos, cambiáramos	cambiareis, cambiarais	cambiaren, cambiaran
	future	cambiaré	cambiarás	cambiará	cambiaremos	cambiaréis	cambiarán
	conditional	cambiaría	cambiaríes	cambiaría	cambiaríemos, cambiaríamos	cambiaríeis, cambiaríais	cambiaríen
subjunctive	present	cambie	cambies, cambias	cambie	cambiemos	cambiéis	cambien, cambian
	imperfect	cambiare, cambiara	cambiares, cambiaras	cambiare, cambiara	cambiáremos, cambiáramos	cambiareis, cambiarais	cambiaren, cambiaran
imperative		—	cambia	—	—	cambiái	—

Synonyms

• (change): camudar

Related terms

• cambéu

Galician

Alternative forms

• cambear

Etymology

In local Latin charters since the 10th century. From Old Galician-Portuguese cambiar (13th century, Cantigas de Santa Maria), from Vulgar Latin or Late Latin cambiāre, from change in conjugation of cambīre, present active infinitive of cambiō, of Celtic origin. Compare French changer.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kamˈbjaɾ/ [kɑmˈbjaɾ]
• Rhymes: -aɾ
• Hyphenation: cam‧biar

Verb

cambiar (first-person singular present cambio, first-person singular preterite cambiei, past participle cambiado)

1. to change

   Synonym: mudar

2. to exchange

   Synonym: trocar

Conjugation

    Conjugation of cambiar

	Singular			Plural
	First-person (eu)	Second-person (ti)	Third-person (el / ela / Vde.)	First-person (nós)	Second-person (vós)	Third-person (eles / elas / Vdes.)
Infinitive
Impersonal	cambiar
Personal	cambiar	cambiares	cambiar	cambiarmos	cambiardes	cambiaren
Gerund
	cambiando
Past participle
Masculine	cambiado			cambiados
Feminine	cambiada			cambiadas
Indicative
Present	cambio	cambias	cambia	cambiamos	cambiades	cambian
Imperfect	cambiaba	cambiabas	cambiaba	cambiabamos	cambiabades	cambiaban
Preterite	cambiei	cambiaches	cambiou	cambiamos	cambiastes	cambiaron
Pluperfect	cambiara	cambiaras	cambiara	cambiaramos	cambiarades	cambiaran
Future	cambiarei	cambiarás	cambiará	cambiaremos	cambiaredes	cambiarán
Conditional	cambiaría	cambiarías	cambiaría	cambiariamos	cambiariades	cambiarían
Subjunctive
Present	cambie	cambies	cambie	cambiemos	cambiedes	cambien
Imperfect	cambiase	cambiases	cambiase	cambiásemos	cambiásedes	cambiasen
Future	cambiar	cambiares	cambiar	cambiarmos	cambiardes	cambiaren
Imperative
Affirmative		cambia	cambie	cambiemos	cambiade	cambien
Negative (non)		non cambies	non cambie	non cambiemos	non cambiedes	non cambien

    Reintegrated conjugation of cambiar (See Appendix:Reintegrationism)

	Singular			Plural
	First-person (eu)	Second-person (ti / tu)	Third-person (ele / ela / você)	First-person (nós)	Second-person (vós)	Third-person (eles / elas / vocês)
Infinitive
Impersonal	cambiar
Personal	cambiar	cambiares	cambiar	cambiarmos	cambiardes	cambiarem
Gerund
	cambiando
Past participle
Masculine	cambiado			cambiados
Feminine	cambiada			cambiadas
Indicative
Present	cambio	cambias	cambia	cambiamos	cambiades, cambiais	cambiam
Imperfect	cambiava	cambiavas	cambiava	cambiávamos	cambiávades, cambiáveis, cambiávais1	cambiavam
Preterite	cambiei	cambiaste, cambiache1	cambiou	cambiamos	cambiastes	cambiárom, cambiaram
Pluperfect	cambiara	cambiaras	cambiara	cambiáramos	cambiárades, cambiáreis, cambiárais1	cambiaram
Future	cambiarei	cambiarás	cambiará	cambiaremos	cambiaredes, cambiareis	cambiarám, cambiarão
Conditional	cambiaria	cambiarias	cambiaria	cambiaríamos	cambiaríades, cambiaríeis, cambiaríais1	cambiariam
Subjunctive
Present	cambie	cambies	cambie	cambiemos	cambiedes, cambieis	cambiem
Imperfect	cambiasse	cambiasses	cambiasse	cambiássemos	cambiássedes, cambiásseis	cambiassem
Future	cambiar	cambiares	cambiar	cambiarmos	cambiardes	cambiarem
Imperative
Affirmative		cambia	cambie	cambiemos	cambiade, cambiai	cambiem
Negative (nom)		nom cambies	nom cambie	nom cambiemos	nom cambiedes, nom cambieis	nom cambiem

¹Less recommended.

Derived terms

• cambiador

Related terms

• cambada
• cambadela
• camballeta
• cambeiro
• cambio
• cambota
• canga
• cangallo

 

References

• Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, Ana Isabel Boullón Agrelo (2006–2022) “cambiar”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Xavier Varela Barreiro, Xavier Gómez Guinovart (2006–2018) “cambiar”, in Corpus Xelmírez - Corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: ILG
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “cambiar”, 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), “cambiar”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “cambiar”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

Interlingua

Verb

cambiar

1. to change

Conjugation

    Conjugation of cambiar

infinitive		cambiar
participle		present	perfect
		cambiante	cambiate
active		simple	perfect
	present	cambia	ha cambiate
	past	cambiava	habeva cambiate
	future	cambiara	habera cambiate
	conditional	cambiarea	haberea cambiate
	imperative	cambia
passive		simple	perfect
	present	es cambiate	ha essite cambiate
	past	esseva cambiate	habeva essite cambiate
	future	essera cambiate	habera essite cambiate
	conditional	esserea cambiate	haberea essite cambiate
	imperative	sia cambiate

Italian

Verb

cambiar (apocopated)

1. Apocopic form of cambiare

Anagrams

• bacarmi, imbarca, imbraca, macabri

Occitan

Etymology

From Old Occitan cambiar, from Vulgar Latin or Late Latin cambiāre, from change in conjugation of cambīre, present active infinitive of cambiō, of Gaulish origin. Compare Catalan canviar, French changer.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [kamˈbja]

• Audio:

  (file)

Verb

cambiar

1. to change, to modify

Conjugation

This verb needs an inflection-table template.

Related terms

• escambiar

Portuguese

Etymology

From Old Galician-Portuguese cambiar, from Vulgar Latin or Late Latin cambiāre, from change in conjugation of cambīre, of Gaulish origin. Compare Spanish cambiar.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /kɐ̃.biˈa(ʁ)/ [kɐ̃.bɪˈa(h)], (faster pronunciation) /kɐ̃ˈbja(ʁ)/ [kɐ̃ˈbja(h)]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /kɐ̃.biˈa(ʁ)/ [kɐ̃.bɪˈa(h)], (faster pronunciation) /kɐ̃ˈbja(ʁ)/ [kɐ̃ˈbja(h)]
  • (São Paulo) IPA^(key): /kɐ̃.biˈa(ɾ)/ [kɐ̃.bɪˈa(ɾ)], (faster pronunciation) /kɐ̃ˈbja(ɾ)/
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /kɐ̃.biˈa(ʁ)/ [kɐ̃.bɪˈa(χ)], (faster pronunciation) /kɐ̃ˈbja(ʁ)/ [kɐ̃ˈbja(χ)]
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /kɐ̃.biˈa(ɻ)/ [kɐ̃.bɪˈa(ɻ)], (faster pronunciation) /kɐ̃ˈbja(ɻ)/

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /kɐ̃ˈbjaɾ/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /kɐ̃ˈbjaɾ/
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /kɐ̃ˈbja.ɾi/

Verb

cambiar (first-person singular present cambio, first-person singular preterite cambiei, past participle cambiado)

1. to exchange (to trade or barter)

   Synonym: negociar

Conjugation

    Conjugation of cambiar (See Appendix:Portuguese verbs)

	Singular			Plural
	First-person (eu)	Second-person (tu)	Third-person (ele / ela / você)	First-person (nós)	Second-person (vós)	Third-person (eles / elas / vocês)
Infinitive
Impersonal	cambiar
Personal	cambiar	cambiares	cambiar	cambiarmos	cambiardes	cambiarem
Gerund
	cambiando
Past participle
Masculine	cambiado			cambiados
Feminine	cambiada			cambiadas
Indicative
Present	cambio	cambias	cambia	cambiamos	cambiais	cambiam
Imperfect	cambiava	cambiavas	cambiava	cambiávamos	cambiáveis	cambiavam
Preterite	cambiei	cambiaste	cambiou	cambiamos1, cambiámos2	cambiastes	cambiaram
Pluperfect	cambiara	cambiaras	cambiara	cambiáramos	cambiáreis	cambiaram
Future	cambiarei	cambiarás	cambiará	cambiaremos	cambiareis	cambiarão
Conditional	cambiaria	cambiarias	cambiaria	cambiaríamos	cambiaríeis	cambiariam
Subjunctive
Present	cambie	cambies	cambie	cambiemos	cambieis	cambiem
Imperfect	cambiasse	cambiasses	cambiasse	cambiássemos	cambiásseis	cambiassem
Future	cambiar	cambiares	cambiar	cambiarmos	cambiardes	cambiarem
Imperative
Affirmative		cambia	cambie	cambiemos	cambiai	cambiem
Negative (não)		não cambies	não cambie	não cambiemos	não cambieis	não cambiem

¹Brazilian Portuguese.
²European Portuguese.

Related terms

• câmbio
• escambiar

Spanish

Etymology

Inherited from Old Spanish, from Vulgar Latin or Late Latin cambiāre, from change in conjugation of cambīre, present active infinitive of cambiō, of Gaulish origin. Compare also the variant Old Spanish form camear. Cognate to Italian cambiare.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kamˈbjaɾ/ [kãmˈbjaɾ]

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɾ
• Syllabification: cam‧biar

Verb

cambiar (first-person singular present cambio, first-person singular preterite cambié, past participle cambiado)

1. (transitive, intransitive) to change, to shift, to switch, to alter

   La marea ha cambiado.

   The tide has turned / shifted.

2. (transitive) to modify

   Synonyms: alterar, modificar, transformar

3. (transitive, intransitive) to switch, to switch up, to change, to trade, to swap (usually + de) (when implying changing from one thing to another)

   Estoy dispuesto a cambiar de lugar contigo.

   I am willing to trade places with you.

   Siempre puedes cambiar de lado y unirte a nosotros.

   You could always switch sides and join us.

   Sería una error que el país cambie de dirección ahora.

   It would be a mistake for the country to change direction now.

   Probablemente debo cambiar de trabajo ahora antes de que sea demasiado tarde.

   I should probably change jobs now before it's too late.

4. (transitive) to replace, to change out, to swap out

   Necesitarás cambiar las pastillas de freno, señor. Están rotas.

   You will need to replace the break pads, sir. They are cracked.

5. (transitive, formal) to exchange, to trade in

   Cambio mi cheque en el banco.

   I cash my check at the bank.

   ¿Dónde puedo cambiar mis dólares por pesos?

   Where can I exchange my dollars for pesos?

6. (transitive, figuratively) to turn around

   Mi primo ahora tiene una segunda oportunidad a cambiar su vida.

   My cousin now has a second chance to turn his life around.

7. (reflexive) to swap, to trade, to switch

   ¿Podríamos cambiarnos los asientos?

   Can we trade seats?

8. (reflexive) to move (i.e., change from one place to another)

   Ella se cambió del sótano al primer piso.

   She moved from the basement to the first floor.

Conjugation

    Conjugation of cambiar (See Appendix:Spanish verbs)

infinitive			cambiar
gerund			cambiando
past participle				masculine		feminine
		singular		cambiado		cambiada
		plural		cambiados		cambiadas
		singular			plural
		1st person	2nd person	3rd person	1st person	2nd person	3rd person
indicative		yo	tú vos	él/ella/ello usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ellos/ellas ustedes
	present	cambio	cambiastú cambiásvos	cambia	cambiamos	cambiáis	cambian
	imperfect	cambiaba	cambiabas	cambiaba	cambiábamos	cambiabais	cambiaban
	preterite	cambié	cambiaste	cambió	cambiamos	cambiasteis	cambiaron
	future	cambiaré	cambiarás	cambiará	cambiaremos	cambiaréis	cambiarán
	conditional	cambiaría	cambiarías	cambiaría	cambiaríamos	cambiaríais	cambiarían
subjunctive		yo	tú vos	él/ella/ello usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ellos/ellas ustedes
	present	cambie	cambiestú cambiésvos2	cambie	cambiemos	cambiéis	cambien
	imperfect (ra)	cambiara	cambiaras	cambiara	cambiáramos	cambiarais	cambiaran
	imperfect (se)	cambiase	cambiases	cambiase	cambiásemos	cambiaseis	cambiasen
	future1	cambiare	cambiares	cambiare	cambiáremos	cambiareis	cambiaren
imperative		—	tú vos	usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ustedes
	affirmative		cambiatú cambiávos	cambie	cambiemos	cambiad	cambien
	negative		no cambies	no cambie	no cambiemos	no cambiéis	no cambien

¹Mostly obsolete, now mainly used in legal language.
²Argentine and Uruguayan voseo prefers the tú form for the present subjunctive.

    Selected combined forms of cambiar

These forms are generated automatically and may not actually be used. Pronoun usage varies by region.

		singular			plural
		1st person	2nd person	3rd person	1st person	2nd person	3rd person
with infinitive cambiar
	dative	cambiarme	cambiarte	cambiarle, cambiarse	cambiarnos	cambiaros	cambiarles, cambiarse
	accusative	cambiarme	cambiarte	cambiarlo, cambiarla, cambiarse	cambiarnos	cambiaros	cambiarlos, cambiarlas, cambiarse
with gerund cambiando
	dative	cambiándome	cambiándote	cambiándole, cambiándose	cambiándonos	cambiándoos	cambiándoles, cambiándose
	accusative	cambiándome	cambiándote	cambiándolo, cambiándola, cambiándose	cambiándonos	cambiándoos	cambiándolos, cambiándolas, cambiándose
with informal second-person singular tú imperative cambia
	dative	cámbiame	cámbiate	cámbiale	cámbianos	not used	cámbiales
	accusative	cámbiame	cámbiate	cámbialo, cámbiala	cámbianos	not used	cámbialos, cámbialas
with informal second-person singular vos imperative cambiá
	dative	cambiame	cambiate	cambiale	cambianos	not used	cambiales
	accusative	cambiame	cambiate	cambialo, cambiala	cambianos	not used	cambialos, cambialas
with formal second-person singular imperative cambie
	dative	cámbieme	not used	cámbiele, cámbiese	cámbienos	not used	cámbieles
	accusative	cámbieme	not used	cámbielo, cámbiela, cámbiese	cámbienos	not used	cámbielos, cámbielas
with first-person plural imperative cambiemos
	dative	not used	cambiémoste	cambiémosle	cambiémonos	cambiémoos	cambiémosles
	accusative	not used	cambiémoste	cambiémoslo, cambiémosla	cambiémonos	cambiémoos	cambiémoslos, cambiémoslas
with informal second-person plural imperative cambiad
	dative	cambiadme	not used	cambiadle	cambiadnos	cambiaos	cambiadles
	accusative	cambiadme	not used	cambiadlo, cambiadla	cambiadnos	cambiaos	cambiadlos, cambiadlas
with formal second-person plural imperative cambien
	dative	cámbienme	not used	cámbienle	cámbiennos	not used	cámbienles, cámbiense
	accusative	cámbienme	not used	cámbienlo, cámbienla	cámbiennos	not used	cámbienlos, cámbienlas, cámbiense

Derived terms

• cambiar de aires
• cambiar de chip
• cambiar de idea
• cambiar de manos
• cambiar de opinión
• cambiar de tercio
• cambiar el agua a las aceitunas
• cambiar el agua al canario
• mandarse cambiar; mandarse a cambiar

Related terms

• cambiante
• cambiazo (superlative)
• cambiecito (diminutive)
• cambio

 

Descendants

• → Ye'kwana: kamjiyaka

Further reading

• “cambiar”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.7, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2023 November 28