construir

See also: construír

Asturian

Verb

construir (first-person singular indicative present construyo, past participle construíu)

1. alternative form of construyir

Further reading

• “construir”, in Diccionariu de la llingua asturiana [Dictionary of the Asturian Language] (in Asturian), 1st edition, Academy of the Asturian Language [Asturian: Academia de la Llingua Asturiana], 2000, →ISBN
• García Arias, Xosé Lluis (2002–2004), “construir”, in Diccionario general de la lengua asturiana [General Dictionary of the Asturian Language] (overall work in Spanish), Editorial Prensa Asturiana, →ISBN

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin cōnstruere, with normal change of conjugation to -ir.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Northern, Central) [kuns.tɾuˈi]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic, Northwestern) [kons.tɾuˈi]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [kons.tɾuˈiɾ]

• Audio (Catalonia):

  (file)

Verb

construir (first-person singular present construeixo, first-person singular preterite construí, past participle construït)

1. to build; to construct

Conjugation

    Central Catalan conjugation of construir (third conjugation, with -eix-)

infinitive			construir
gerund			construint
past participle				masculine		feminine
		singular		construït		construïda
		plural		construïts		construïdes
person		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		jo	tu	ell/ella vostè	nosaltres nós	vosaltres vós	ells/elles vostès
	present	construeixo	construeixes	construeix	construïm	construïu	construeixen
	imperfect	construïa	construïes	construïa	construíem	construíeu	construïen
	future	construiré	construiràs	construirà	construirem	construireu	construiran
	preterite	construí	construïres	construí	construírem	construíreu	construïren
	conditional	construiria	construiries	construiria	construiríem	construiríeu	construirien
subjunctive		jo	tu	ell/ella vostè	nosaltres nós	vosaltres vós	ells/elles vostès
	present	construeixi	construeixis	construeixi	construïm	construïu	construeixin
	imperfect	construís	construïssis	construís	construíssim	construíssiu	construïssin
imperative		—	tu	vostè	nosaltres	vosaltres vós	vostès
	affirmative	—	construeix	construeixi	construïm	construïu	construeixin
	negative (no)	—	no construeixis	no construeixi	no construïm	no construïu	no construeixin

Related terms

• construcció
• constructor
• reconstruir

Further reading

• “construir”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
• “construir”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2026
• “construir” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• Alcover, Antoni Maria; Moll, Francesc de Borja (1963), “construir”, in Diccionari català-valencià-balear (in Catalan)

Portuguese

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *ḱe?

Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm

Proto-Italic *kom

Proto-Italic *kom-

Latin con-

Proto-Indo-European *ster-

Proto-Indo-European *sterh₃-

Proto-Indo-European *strew-

Proto-Indo-European *-eti

Proto-Indo-European *stréweti

Proto-Italic *strowō

Latin struō

Latin cōnstruerebor.

Portuguese construir

Borrowed from Latin cōnstruere.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /kõs.tɾuˈi(ʁ)/ [kõs.tɾuˈi(h)], (faster) /kõsˈtɾwi(ʁ)/ [kõsˈtɾwi(h)]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /kõs.tɾuˈi(ʁ)/ [kõs.tɾuˈi(h)], (faster) /kõsˈtɾwi(ʁ)/ [kõsˈtɾwi(h)]
  • (São Paulo) IPA^(key): /kõs.tɾuˈi(ɾ)/, (faster) /kõsˈtɾwi(ɾ)/
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /kõʃ.tɾuˈi(ʁ)/ [kõʃ.tɾuˈi(χ)], (faster) /kõʃˈtɾwi(ʁ)/ [kõʃˈtɾwi(χ)]
  • (Caipira) IPA^(key): /kõs.tɾuˈi(ɻ)/, (faster) /kõsˈtɾwi(ɻ)/

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /kõʃ.tɾuˈiɾ/, (faster) /kõʃˈtɾwiɾ/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /kõʃ.tɾuˈiɾ/, (faster) /kõʃˈtɾwiɾ/
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /kõʃ.tɾuˈi.ɾi/, (faster) /kõʃˈtɾwi.ɾi/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Audio (Portugal (Porto)):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: cons‧tru‧ir

Verb

construir (first-person singular present construo, first-person singular preterite construí, past participle construído)

1. to build
2. to construct

Conjugation

    Conjugation of construir (irregular) (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	construir
Personal	construir	construíres	construir	construirmos	construirdes	construírem
Gerund
	construindo
Past participle
Masculine	construído			construídos
Feminine	construída			construídas
Indicative
Present	construo	constróis, construis	constrói, construi	construímos	construís	constroem, construem
Imperfect	construía	construías	construía	construíamos	construíeis	construíam
Preterite	construí	construíste	construiu	construímos	construístes	construíram
Pluperfect	construíra	construíras	construíra	construíramos	construíreis	construíram
Future	construirei	construirás	construirá	construiremos	construireis	construirão
Conditional	construiria	construirias	construiria	construiríamos	construiríeis	construiriam
Subjunctive
Present	construa	construas	construa	construamos	construais	construam
Imperfect	construísse	construísses	construísse	construíssemos	construísseis	construíssem
Future	construir	construíres	construir	construirmos	construirdes	construírem
Imperative
Affirmative		constrói, construi	construa	construamos	construí	construam
Negative (não)		não construas	não construa	não construamos	não construais	não construam

Antonyms

• destruir

Further reading

• “construir”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “construir”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Spanish

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *ḱe?

Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm

Proto-Italic *kom

Proto-Italic *kom-

Latin con-

Proto-Indo-European *ster-

Proto-Indo-European *sterh₃-

Proto-Indo-European *strew-

Proto-Indo-European *-eti

Proto-Indo-European *stréweti

Proto-Italic *strowō

Latin struō

Latin cōnstruerebor.

Spanish construir

Borrowed from Latin cōnstruere.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /konsˈtɾwiɾ/ [kõnsˈt̪ɾwiɾ], /konstɾuˈiɾ/ [kõns.t̪ɾuˈiɾ]

• Audio (Spain):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -iɾ
• Syllabification: cons‧truir, cons‧tru‧ir

Verb

construir (first-person singular present construyo, first-person singular preterite construí, past participle construido)

1. to build

   El año pasado, construyeron muchos apartamentos.

   They built a lot of apartments last year.

   • 2020, “Yóok 'ol kaab Maya”, performed by Cemican:

     Deja que la turquesa construya un templo azul

     Let the turquoise build a blue temple

2. to construct

Conjugation

    Conjugation of construir (See Appendix:Spanish verbs)

infinitive			construir
gerund			construyendo
past participle				masculine		feminine
		singular		construido		construida
		plural		construidos		construidas
		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	construyo	construyestú construísvos	construye	construimos	construís	construyen
	imperfect	construía	construías	construía	construíamos	construíais	construían
	preterite	construí	construiste	construyó	construimos	construisteis	construyeron
	future	construiré	construirás	construirá	construiremos	construiréis	construirán
	conditional	construiría	construirías	construiría	construiríamos	construiríais	construirían
subjunctive		yo	tú vos	él/ella/ello usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ellos/ellas ustedes
	present	construya	construyastú construyásvos2	construya	construyamos	construyáis	construyan
	imperfect (ra)	construyera	construyeras	construyera	construyéramos	construyerais	construyeran
	imperfect (se)	construyese	construyeses	construyese	construyésemos	construyeseis	construyesen
	future1	construyere	construyeres	construyere	construyéremos	construyereis	construyeren
imperative		—	tú vos	usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ustedes
	affirmative		construyetú construívos	construya	construyamos	construid	construyan
	negative		no construyas	no construya	no construyamos	no construyáis	no construyan

¹Rare; now chiefly used in legal language.
²Argentine and Uruguayan voseo prefers the tuteo-form for the present subjunctive.

    Selected combined forms of construir

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 construir	dative	construirme	construirte	construirle, construirse	construirnos	construiros	construirles, construirse
	accusative	construirme	construirte	construirlo, construirla, construirse	construirnos	construiros	construirlos, construirlas, construirse
with gerund construyendo	dative	construyéndome	construyéndote	construyéndole, construyéndose	construyéndonos	construyéndoos	construyéndoles, construyéndose
	accusative	construyéndome	construyéndote	construyéndolo, construyéndola, construyéndose	construyéndonos	construyéndoos	construyéndolos, construyéndolas, construyéndose
with informal second-person singular tuteo imperative construye	dative	constrúyeme	constrúyete	constrúyele	constrúyenos	not used	constrúyeles
	accusative	constrúyeme	constrúyete	constrúyelo, constrúyela	constrúyenos	not used	constrúyelos, constrúyelas
with informal second-person singular voseo imperative construí	dative	construime	construite	construile	construinos	not used	construiles
	accusative	construime	construite	construilo, construila	construinos	not used	construilos, construilas
with formal second-person singular imperative construya	dative	constrúyame	not used	constrúyale, constrúyase	constrúyanos	not used	constrúyales
	accusative	constrúyame	not used	constrúyalo, constrúyala, constrúyase	constrúyanos	not used	constrúyalos, constrúyalas
with first-person plural imperative construyamos	dative	not used	construyámoste	construyámosle	construyámonos	construyámoos	construyámosles
	accusative	not used	construyámoste	construyámoslo, construyámosla	construyámonos	construyámoos	construyámoslos, construyámoslas
with informal second-person plural imperative construid	dative	construidme	not used	construidle	construidnos	construíos	construidles
	accusative	construidme	not used	construidlo, construidla	construidnos	construíos	construidlos, construidlas
with formal second-person plural imperative construyan	dative	constrúyanme	not used	constrúyanle	constrúyannos	not used	constrúyanles, constrúyanse
	accusative	constrúyanme	not used	constrúyanlo, constrúyanla	constrúyannos	not used	constrúyanlos, constrúyanlas, constrúyanse

Antonyms

• deconstruir
• destruir

Related terms

• construcción
• constructivo
• constructor

Further reading

• “construir”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025