dificultar

Catalan

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin difficultāre.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Northern, Balearic, Central, Northwestern) [di.fi.kulˈta]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [di.fi.kulˈtaɾ]

Verb

dificultar (first-person singular present dificulto, first-person singular preterite dificultí, past participle dificultat)

1. (transitive) to hinder; to make difficult
2. (transitive) to interfere with

Conjugation

    Central Catalan conjugation of dificultar (first conjugation)

infinitive			dificultar
gerund			dificultant
past participle				masculine		feminine
		singular		dificultat		dificultada
		plural		dificultats		dificultades
person		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		jo	tu	ell/ella vostè	nosaltres nós	vosaltres vós	ells/elles vostès
	present	dificulto	dificultes	dificulta	dificultem	dificulteu	dificulten
	imperfect	dificultava	dificultaves	dificultava	dificultàvem	dificultàveu	dificultaven
	future	dificultaré	dificultaràs	dificultarà	dificultarem	dificultareu	dificultaran
	preterite	dificultí	dificultares	dificultà	dificultàrem	dificultàreu	dificultaren
	conditional	dificultaria	dificultaries	dificultaria	dificultaríem	dificultaríeu	dificultarien
subjunctive		jo	tu	ell/ella vostè	nosaltres nós	vosaltres vós	ells/elles vostès
	present	dificulti	dificultis	dificulti	dificultem	dificulteu	dificultin
	imperfect	dificultés	dificultessis	dificultés	dificultéssim	dificultéssiu	dificultessin
imperative		—	tu	vostè	nosaltres	vosaltres vós	vostès
	affirmative	—	dificulta	dificulti	dificultem	dificulteu	dificultin
	negative (no)	—	no dificultis	no dificulti	no dificultem	no dificulteu	no dificultin

Derived terms

• dificultós

Related terms

• difícil
• dificultat

Further reading

• “dificultar”, 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
• “dificultar”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2026
• “dificultar” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• Alcover, Antoni Maria; Moll, Francesc de Borja (1963), “dificultar”, in Diccionari català-valencià-balear (in Catalan)

Galician

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin difficultāre.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /difikulˈtaɾ/ [d̪i.fi.kul̪ˈt̪aɾ]
• Rhymes: -aɾ
• Hyphenation: di‧fi‧cul‧tar

Verb

dificultar (first-person singular present dificulto, first-person singular preterite dificultei, past participle dificultado)

1. (transitive) to hinder; to make difficult

Conjugation

    Conjugation of dificultar

	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	dificultar
Personal	dificultar	dificultares	dificultar	dificultarmos	dificultardes	dificultaren
Gerund
	dificultando
Past participle
Masculine	dificultado			dificultados
Feminine	dificultada			dificultadas
Indicative
Present	dificulto	dificultas	dificulta	dificultamos	dificultades	dificultan
Imperfect	dificultaba	dificultabas	dificultaba	dificultabamos	dificultabades	dificultaban
Preterite	dificultei	dificultaches	dificultou	dificultamos	dificultastes	dificultaron
Pluperfect	dificultara	dificultaras	dificultara	dificultaramos	dificultarades	dificultaran
Future	dificultarei	dificultarás	dificultará	dificultaremos	dificultaredes	dificultarán
Conditional	dificultaría	dificultarías	dificultaría	dificultariamos	dificultariades	dificultarían
Subjunctive
Present	dificulte	dificultes	dificulte	dificultemos	dificultedes	dificulten
Imperfect	dificultase	dificultases	dificultase	dificultásemos	dificultásedes	dificultasen
Future	dificultar	dificultares	dificultar	dificultarmos	dificultardes	dificultaren
Imperative
Affirmative		dificulta	dificulte	dificultemos	dificultade	dificulten
Negative (non)		non dificultes	non dificulte	non dificultemos	non dificultedes	non dificulten

    Reintegrated conjugation of dificultar (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	dificultar
Personal	dificultar	dificultares	dificultar	dificultarmos	dificultardes	dificultarem
Gerund
	dificultando
Past participle
Masculine	dificultado			dificultados
Feminine	dificultada			dificultadas
Indicative
Present	dificulto	dificultas	dificulta	dificultamos	dificultades, dificultais	dificultam
Imperfect	dificultava	dificultavas	dificultava	dificultávamos	dificultávades, dificultáveis, dificultávais1	dificultavam
Preterite	dificultei	dificultaste, dificultache1	dificultou	dificultamos	dificultastes	dificultárom, dificultaram
Pluperfect	dificultara	dificultaras	dificultara	dificultáramos	dificultárades, dificultáreis, dificultárais1	dificultaram
Future	dificultarei	dificultarás	dificultará	dificultaremos	dificultaredes, dificultareis	dificultarám, dificultarão
Conditional	dificultaria	dificultarias	dificultaria	dificultaríamos	dificultaríades, dificultaríeis, dificultaríais1	dificultariam
Subjunctive
Present	dificulte	dificultes	dificulte	dificultemos	dificultedes, dificulteis	dificultem
Imperfect	dificultasse	dificultasses	dificultasse	dificultássemos	dificultássedes, dificultásseis	dificultassem
Future	dificultar	dificultares	dificultar	dificultarmos	dificultardes	dificultarem
Imperative
Affirmative		dificulta	dificulte	dificultemos	dificultade, dificultai	dificultem
Negative (nom)		nom dificultes	nom dificulte	nom dificultemos	nom dificultedes, nom dificulteis	nom dificultem

¹Less recommended.

Further reading

• “dificultar”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2026
• “dificultar”, in Dicionário Estraviz de galego (in Galician), 2014–2026

Portuguese

Etymology

Etymology tree

Latin difficultās

Proto-Indo-European *-h₂

Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂

Proto-Indo-European *-yéti

Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti

Proto-Indo-European *-h₂tiinflu.

Proto-Italic *-ājō

Proto-Italic *-āō

Latin -ō

Latin difficultārelbor.

Portuguese dificultar

Learned borrowing from Latin difficultāre.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /d͡ʒi.fi.kuwˈta(ʁ)/ [d͡ʒi.fi.kuʊ̯ˈta(h)]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /d͡ʒi.fi.kuwˈta(ʁ)/ [d͡ʒi.fi.kuʊ̯ˈta(h)]
  • (São Paulo) IPA^(key): /d͡ʒi.fi.kuwˈta(ɾ)/ [d͡ʒi.fi.kuʊ̯ˈta(ɾ)]
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /d͡ʒi.fi.kuwˈta(ʁ)/ [d͡ʒi.fi.kuʊ̯ˈta(χ)]
  • (Caipira) IPA^(key): /d͡ʒi.fi.kuwˈta(ɻ)/ [d͡ʒi.fi.kuʊ̯ˈta(ɻ)]

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /di.fi.kulˈtaɾ/ [di.fi.kuɫˈtaɾ]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /di.fi.kulˈtaɾ/ [di.fi.kuɫˈtaɾ]
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /di.fi.kulˈta.ɾi/ [di.fi.kuɫˈta.ɾi]

• Hyphenation: di‧fi‧cul‧tar

Verb

dificultar (first-person singular present dificulto, first-person singular preterite dificultei, past participle dificultado)

1. (transitive) to hinder (to make a task difficult)

   Synonym: frustrar

Conjugation

    Conjugation of dificultar (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	dificultar
Personal	dificultar	dificultares	dificultar	dificultarmos	dificultardes	dificultarem
Gerund
	dificultando
Past participle
Masculine	dificultado			dificultados
Feminine	dificultada			dificultadas
Indicative
Present	dificulto	dificultas	dificulta	dificultamos	dificultais	dificultam
Imperfect	dificultava	dificultavas	dificultava	dificultávamos	dificultáveis	dificultavam
Preterite	dificultei	dificultaste	dificultou	dificultamos1, dificultámos2	dificultastes	dificultaram
Pluperfect	dificultara	dificultaras	dificultara	dificultáramos	dificultáreis	dificultaram
Future	dificultarei	dificultarás	dificultará	dificultaremos	dificultareis	dificultarão
Conditional	dificultaria	dificultarias	dificultaria	dificultaríamos	dificultaríeis	dificultariam
Subjunctive
Present	dificulte	dificultes	dificulte	dificultemos	dificulteis	dificultem
Imperfect	dificultasse	dificultasses	dificultasse	dificultássemos	dificultásseis	dificultassem
Future	dificultar	dificultares	dificultar	dificultarmos	dificultardes	dificultarem
Imperative
Affirmative		dificulta	dificulte	dificultemos	dificultai	dificultem
Negative (não)		não dificultes	não dificulte	não dificultemos	não dificulteis	não dificultem

¹Brazilian Portuguese.
²European Portuguese.

Related terms

• dificuldade

Further reading

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

Spanish

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin difficultāre.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /difikulˈtaɾ/ [d̪i.fi.kul̪ˈt̪aɾ]
• Rhymes: -aɾ
• Syllabification: di‧fi‧cul‧tar

Verb

dificultar (first-person singular present dificulto, first-person singular preterite dificulté, past participle dificultado)

1. (transitive) to make difficult, to hamper, to hinder, to impede, to complicate

Conjugation

    Conjugation of dificultar (See Appendix:Spanish verbs)

infinitive			dificultar
gerund			dificultando
past participle				masculine		feminine
		singular		dificultado		dificultada
		plural		dificultados		dificultadas
		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	dificulto	dificultastú dificultásvos	dificulta	dificultamos	dificultáis	dificultan
	imperfect	dificultaba	dificultabas	dificultaba	dificultábamos	dificultabais	dificultaban
	preterite	dificulté	dificultaste	dificultó	dificultamos	dificultasteis	dificultaron
	future	dificultaré	dificultarás	dificultará	dificultaremos	dificultaréis	dificultarán
	conditional	dificultaría	dificultarías	dificultaría	dificultaríamos	dificultaríais	dificultarían
subjunctive		yo	tú vos	él/ella/ello usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ellos/ellas ustedes
	present	dificulte	dificultestú dificultésvos2	dificulte	dificultemos	dificultéis	dificulten
	imperfect (ra)	dificultara	dificultaras	dificultara	dificultáramos	dificultarais	dificultaran
	imperfect (se)	dificultase	dificultases	dificultase	dificultásemos	dificultaseis	dificultasen
	future1	dificultare	dificultares	dificultare	dificultáremos	dificultareis	dificultaren
imperative		—	tú vos	usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ustedes
	affirmative		dificultatú dificultávos	dificulte	dificultemos	dificultad	dificulten
	negative		no dificultes	no dificulte	no dificultemos	no dificultéis	no dificulten

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

    Selected combined forms of dificultar

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 dificultar	dative	dificultarme	dificultarte	dificultarle, dificultarse	dificultarnos	dificultaros	dificultarles, dificultarse
	accusative	dificultarme	dificultarte	dificultarlo, dificultarla, dificultarse	dificultarnos	dificultaros	dificultarlos, dificultarlas, dificultarse
with gerund dificultando	dative	dificultándome	dificultándote	dificultándole, dificultándose	dificultándonos	dificultándoos	dificultándoles, dificultándose
	accusative	dificultándome	dificultándote	dificultándolo, dificultándola, dificultándose	dificultándonos	dificultándoos	dificultándolos, dificultándolas, dificultándose
with informal second-person singular tuteo imperative dificulta	dative	dificúltame	dificúltate	dificúltale	dificúltanos	not used	dificúltales
	accusative	dificúltame	dificúltate	dificúltalo, dificúltala	dificúltanos	not used	dificúltalos, dificúltalas
with informal second-person singular voseo imperative dificultá	dative	dificultame	dificultate	dificultale	dificultanos	not used	dificultales
	accusative	dificultame	dificultate	dificultalo, dificultala	dificultanos	not used	dificultalos, dificultalas
with formal second-person singular imperative dificulte	dative	dificúlteme	not used	dificúltele, dificúltese	dificúltenos	not used	dificúlteles
	accusative	dificúlteme	not used	dificúltelo, dificúltela, dificúltese	dificúltenos	not used	dificúltelos, dificúltelas
with first-person plural imperative dificultemos	dative	not used	dificultémoste	dificultémosle	dificultémonos	dificultémoos	dificultémosles
	accusative	not used	dificultémoste	dificultémoslo, dificultémosla	dificultémonos	dificultémoos	dificultémoslos, dificultémoslas
with informal second-person plural imperative dificultad	dative	dificultadme	not used	dificultadle	dificultadnos	dificultaos	dificultadles
	accusative	dificultadme	not used	dificultadlo, dificultadla	dificultadnos	dificultaos	dificultadlos, dificultadlas
with formal second-person plural imperative dificulten	dative	dificúltenme	not used	dificúltenle	dificúltennos	not used	dificúltenles, dificúltense
	accusative	dificúltenme	not used	dificúltenlo, dificúltenla	dificúltennos	not used	dificúltenlos, dificúltenlas, dificúltense

Related terms

• difícil
• dificultad

Further reading

• “dificultar”, 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