distinguir

Galician

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /distiŋˈɡiɾ/ [d̪is̺.t̪iŋˈɡiɾ]

• IPA^(key): (standard) /distiŋˈɡiɾ/ [d̪is̺.t̪iŋˈɡiɾ]
• IPA^(key): (gheada) /distiŋˈħiɾ/ [d̪is̺.t̪iŋˈħiɾ]

• Rhymes: -iɾ
• Hyphenation: dis‧tin‧guir

Verb

distinguir (first-person singular present distingo, first-person singular preterite distinguín, past participle distinguido)
distinguir (first-person singular present distingo, first-person singular preterite distinguim or distingui, past participle distinguido, short past participle distinto, reintegrationist norm)

1. to distinguish

Conjugation

    Conjugation of distinguir (g-gu alternation)

	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	distinguir
Personal	distinguir	distinguires	distinguir	distinguirmos	distinguirdes	distinguiren
Gerund
	distinguindo
Past participle
Masculine	distinguido			distinguidos
Feminine	distinguida			distinguidas
Indicative
Present	distingo	distingues	distingue	distinguimos	distinguides	distinguen
Imperfect	distinguía	distinguías	distinguía	distinguiamos	distinguiades	distinguían
Preterite	distinguín	distinguiches	distinguiu	distinguimos	distinguistes	distinguiron
Pluperfect	distinguira	distinguiras	distinguira	distinguiramos	distinguirades	distinguiran
Future	distinguirei	distinguirás	distinguirá	distinguiremos	distinguiredes	distinguirán
Conditional	distinguiría	distinguirías	distinguiría	distinguiriamos	distinguiriades	distinguirían
Subjunctive
Present	distinga	distingas	distinga	distingamos	distingades	distingan
Imperfect	distinguise	distinguises	distinguise	distinguísemos	distinguísedes	distinguisen
Future	distinguir	distinguires	distinguir	distinguirmos	distinguirdes	distinguiren
Imperative
Affirmative		distingue	distinga	distingamos	distinguide	distingan
Negative (non)		non distingas	non distinga	non distingamos	non distingades	non distingan

    Reintegrated conjugation of distinguir (irregular short past participle; g-gu alternation) (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	distinguir
Personal	distinguir	distinguires	distinguir	distinguirmos	distinguirdes	distinguirem
Gerund
	distinguindo
Short past participle
Masculine	distinto1			distintos1
Feminine	distinta1			distintas1
Long past participle
Masculine	distinguido2			distinguidos2
Feminine	distinguida2			distinguidas2
Indicative
Present	distingo	distingues	distingue	distinguimos	distinguides, distinguis	distinguem
Imperfect	distinguia	distinguias	distinguia	distinguíamos	distinguíades, distinguíeis, distinguíais3	distinguiam
Preterite	distinguim, distingui	distinguiste, distinguiche3	distinguiu	distinguimos	distinguistes	distinguírom, distinguiram
Pluperfect	distinguira	distinguiras	distinguira	distinguíramos	distinguírades, distinguíreis, distinguírais3	distinguiram
Future	distinguirei	distinguirás	distinguirá	distinguiremos	distinguiredes, distinguireis	distinguirám, distinguirão
Conditional	distinguiria	distinguirias	distinguiria	distinguiríamos	distinguiríades, distinguiríeis, distinguiríais3	distinguiriam
Subjunctive
Present	distinga	distingas	distinga	distingamos	distingades, distingais	distingam
Imperfect	distinguisse	distinguisses	distinguisse	distinguíssemos	distinguíssedes, distinguísseis	distinguissem
Future	distinguir	distinguires	distinguir	distinguirmos	distinguirdes	distinguirem
Imperative
Affirmative		distingue	distinga	distingamos	distinguide, distingui	distingam
Negative (nom)		nom distingas	nom distinga	nom distingamos	nom distingades, nom distingais	nom distingam

¹Usually used with auxiliary verbs ser and estar.
²Usually used with auxiliary verbs haver and ter.
³Less recommended.

Further reading

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

Occitan

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin distinguere.

Pronunciation

• Audio (Béarn):

  (file)

Verb

distinguir

1. to distinguish

   Synonym: diferenciar

Conjugation

    Lengadocian (Central Occitan)

		simple			compound
infinitive		distinguir			?er distinguit
gerund		distinguissent			use gerund of ?er + past participle
past participle		distinguit			—
person		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		ieu	tu	el	nosautres	vosautres	eles
	present	distinguissi	distinguisses	distinguís	distinguissèm	distinguissètz	distinguisson
	imperfect	distinguissiái	distinguissiás	distinguissiá	distinguissiam	distinguissiatz	distinguissián
	preterite	distinguiguèri	distinguiguères	distinguiguèt	distinguiguèrem	distinguiguèretz	distinguiguèron
	future	distinguirai	distinguiràs	distinguirà	distinguirem	distinguiretz	distinguiràn
	conditional	distinguiriái	distinguiriás	distinguiriá	distinguiriam	distinguiriatz	distinguirián
	conditional 2nd form1	distinguiguèra	distinguiguèras	distinguiguèra	distinguigueram	distinguigueratz	distinguiguèran
compound tenses	present perfect	use the present tense of ?er + past participle
	pluperfect	use the imperfect tense of ?er + past participle
	past anterior	use the preterite tense of ?er + past participle
	future perfect	use the future tense of ?er + past participle
	conditional perfect	use the conditional tense of ?er + past participle
subjunctive		que ieu	que tu	que el	que nosautres	que vosautres	que eles
	present	distinguisca	distinguiscas	distinguisca	distinguiscam	distinguiscatz	distinguiscan
	imperfect	distinguiguèsse	distinguiguèsses	distinguiguèsse	distinguiguèssem	distinguiguèssetz	distinguiguèsson
compound tenses	past	use the present subjunctive of ?er + past participle
	pluperfect	use the imperfect subjunctive of ?er + past participle
imperative		—	tu	—	nosautres	vosautres	—
			distinguís		distinguiscam	distinguissetz	1Now chiefly obsolete, still in use in some Limousin and Vivaro-Alpin dialects

Related terms

• distincion

Portuguese

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin distinguere.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /d͡ʒis.t͡ʃĩˈɡi(ʁ)/ [d͡ʒis.t͡ʃĩˈɡi(h)], (proscribed) /d͡ʒis.t͡ʃĩˈɡwi(ʁ)/ [d͡ʒis.t͡ʃĩˈɡwi(h)]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /d͡ʒis.t͡ʃĩˈɡi(ʁ)/ [d͡ʒis.t͡ʃĩˈɡi(h)], (proscribed) /d͡ʒis.t͡ʃĩˈɡwi(ʁ)/ [d͡ʒis.t͡ʃĩˈɡwi(h)]
  • (São Paulo) IPA^(key): /d͡ʒis.t͡ʃĩˈɡi(ɾ)/, (proscribed) /d͡ʒis.t͡ʃĩˈɡwi(ɾ)/
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /d͡ʒiʃ.t͡ʃĩˈɡi(ʁ)/ [d͡ʒiʃ.t͡ʃĩˈɡi(χ)], (proscribed) /d͡ʒiʃ.t͡ʃĩˈɡwi(ʁ)/ [d͡ʒiʃ.t͡ʃĩˈɡwi(χ)]
  • (Caipira) IPA^(key): /d͡ʒis.t͡ʃĩˈɡi(ɻ)/, (proscribed) /d͡ʒis.t͡ʃĩˈɡwi(ɻ)/

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /dɨʃ.tĩˈɡiɾ/, /diʃ.tĩˈɡiɾ/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /dɨʃ.tĩˈɡiɾ/, /diʃ.tĩˈɡiɾ/
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /dɨʃ.tĩˈɡi.ɾi/, /diʃ.tĩˈɡi.ɾi/

• Audio (Brazil (Caipira)):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: dis‧tin‧guir

Verb

distinguir (first-person singular present distingo, first-person singular preterite distingui, past participle distinguido, short past participle distinto)

1. to distinguish, discern (tell apart)
2. to differentiate

Conjugation

    Conjugation of distinguir (irregular short past participle; g-gu alternation) (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	distinguir
Personal	distinguir	distinguires	distinguir	distinguirmos	distinguirdes	distinguirem
Gerund
	distinguindo
Short past participle
Masculine	distinto1			distintos1
Feminine	distinta1			distintas1
Long past participle
Masculine	distinguido2			distinguidos2
Feminine	distinguida2			distinguidas2
Indicative
Present	distingo	distingues	distingue	distinguimos	distinguis	distinguem
Imperfect	distinguia	distinguias	distinguia	distinguíamos	distinguíeis	distinguiam
Preterite	distingui	distinguiste	distinguiu	distinguimos	distinguistes	distinguiram
Pluperfect	distinguira	distinguiras	distinguira	distinguíramos	distinguíreis	distinguiram
Future	distinguirei	distinguirás	distinguirá	distinguiremos	distinguireis	distinguirão
Conditional	distinguiria	distinguirias	distinguiria	distinguiríamos	distinguiríeis	distinguiriam
Subjunctive
Present	distinga	distingas	distinga	distingamos	distingais	distingam
Imperfect	distinguisse	distinguisses	distinguisse	distinguíssemos	distinguísseis	distinguissem
Future	distinguir	distinguires	distinguir	distinguirmos	distinguirdes	distinguirem
Imperative
Affirmative		distingue	distinga	distingamos	distingui	distingam
Negative (não)		não distingas	não distinga	não distingamos	não distingais	não distingam

¹Usually used with auxiliary verbs ser and estar.
²Usually used with auxiliary verbs haver and ter.

Related terms

• distinção
• distintivo
• distinto
• extinguir

Further reading

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

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin distinguere.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /distinˈɡiɾ/ [d̪is.t̪ĩŋˈɡiɾ]
• Rhymes: -iɾ
• Syllabification: dis‧tin‧guir

Verb

distinguir (first-person singular present distingo, first-person singular preterite distinguí, past participle distinguido)

1. to distinguish, discern
2. to differentiate, set apart
   • 1915, Julio Vicuña Cifuentes, Mitos y Supersticiones Recogidos de la Tradición Oral Chilena, page 79:

     La ciencia innata del Perspicaz no tiene nada de diabólico; antes por el contrario, parece que proviene de Dios, que ha querido distinguirlo, premiando acaso en él la virtud de los padres.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

3. to make out, manage to see, hear etc.

   No distingo el número de la casa

   I cannot make out the house number.

4. (reflexive) to stand out, be distinguishable or differentiable, to distinguish oneself

   Se distinguen por su acento

   They stand out because of their accent.

Conjugation

    Conjugation of distinguir (g-gu alternation) (See Appendix:Spanish verbs)

infinitive			distinguir
gerund			distinguiendo
past participle				masculine		feminine
		singular		distinguido		distinguida
		plural		distinguidos		distinguidas
		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	distingo	distinguestú distinguísvos	distingue	distinguimos	distinguís	distinguen
	imperfect	distinguía	distinguías	distinguía	distinguíamos	distinguíais	distinguían
	preterite	distinguí	distinguiste	distinguió	distinguimos	distinguisteis	distinguieron
	future	distinguiré	distinguirás	distinguirá	distinguiremos	distinguiréis	distinguirán
	conditional	distinguiría	distinguirías	distinguiría	distinguiríamos	distinguiríais	distinguirían
subjunctive		yo	tú vos	él/ella/ello usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ellos/ellas ustedes
	present	distinga	distingastú distingásvos2	distinga	distingamos	distingáis	distingan
	imperfect (ra)	distinguiera	distinguieras	distinguiera	distinguiéramos	distinguierais	distinguieran
	imperfect (se)	distinguiese	distinguieses	distinguiese	distinguiésemos	distinguieseis	distinguiesen
	future1	distinguiere	distinguieres	distinguiere	distinguiéremos	distinguiereis	distinguieren
imperative		—	tú vos	usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ustedes
	affirmative		distinguetú distinguívos	distinga	distingamos	distinguid	distingan
	negative		no distingas	no distinga	no distingamos	no distingáis	no distingan

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

    Selected combined forms of distinguir (g-gu alternation)

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 distinguir	dative	distinguirme	distinguirte	distinguirle, distinguirse	distinguirnos	distinguiros	distinguirles, distinguirse
	accusative	distinguirme	distinguirte	distinguirlo, distinguirla, distinguirse	distinguirnos	distinguiros	distinguirlos, distinguirlas, distinguirse
with gerund distinguiendo	dative	distinguiéndome	distinguiéndote	distinguiéndole, distinguiéndose	distinguiéndonos	distinguiéndoos	distinguiéndoles, distinguiéndose
	accusative	distinguiéndome	distinguiéndote	distinguiéndolo, distinguiéndola, distinguiéndose	distinguiéndonos	distinguiéndoos	distinguiéndolos, distinguiéndolas, distinguiéndose
with informal second-person singular tuteo imperative distingue	dative	distíngueme	distínguete	distínguele	distínguenos	not used	distíngueles
	accusative	distíngueme	distínguete	distínguelo, distínguela	distínguenos	not used	distínguelos, distínguelas
with informal second-person singular voseo imperative distinguí	dative	distinguime	distinguite	distinguile	distinguinos	not used	distinguiles
	accusative	distinguime	distinguite	distinguilo, distinguila	distinguinos	not used	distinguilos, distinguilas
with formal second-person singular imperative distinga	dative	distíngame	not used	distíngale, distíngase	distínganos	not used	distíngales
	accusative	distíngame	not used	distíngalo, distíngala, distíngase	distínganos	not used	distíngalos, distíngalas
with first-person plural imperative distingamos	dative	not used	distingámoste	distingámosle	distingámonos	distingámoos	distingámosles
	accusative	not used	distingámoste	distingámoslo, distingámosla	distingámonos	distingámoos	distingámoslos, distingámoslas
with informal second-person plural imperative distinguid	dative	distinguidme	not used	distinguidle	distinguidnos	distinguíos	distinguidles
	accusative	distinguidme	not used	distinguidlo, distinguidla	distinguidnos	distinguíos	distinguidlos, distinguidlas
with formal second-person plural imperative distingan	dative	distínganme	not used	distínganle	distíngannos	not used	distínganles, distínganse
	accusative	distínganme	not used	distínganlo, distínganla	distíngannos	not used	distínganlos, distínganlas, distínganse

Related terms

• distinción f
• distinto (adjective)
• extinguir (verb)

See also

• reconocer (verb)

Further reading

• “distinguir”, 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