empedrar

Catalan

Etymology

From em- +‎ pedra (“stone”) +‎ -ar.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Northern, Balearic, Central) [əm.pəˈðɾa]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [em.peˈðɾaɾ]
• IPA^(key): (Northwestern) [em.peˈðɾa]

• Audio (Barcelona):

  (file)

• Homophone: empedrà
• Rhymes: -a(ɾ)

Verb

empedrar (first-person singular present empedro, first-person singular preterite empedrí, past participle empedrat); root stress: (Northern) /e̞/; (Balearic, Central, Northwestern, Valencia) /e/

1. (transitive) to pave

Conjugation

    Central Catalan conjugation of empedrar (first conjugation)

infinitive			empedrar
gerund			empedrant
past participle				masculine		feminine
		singular		empedrat		empedrada
		plural		empedrats		empedrades
person		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		jo	tu	ell/ella vostè	nosaltres nós	vosaltres vós	ells/elles vostès
	present	empedro	empedres	empedra	empedrem	empedreu	empedren
	imperfect	empedrava	empedraves	empedrava	empedràvem	empedràveu	empedraven
	future	empedraré	empedraràs	empedrarà	empedrarem	empedrareu	empedraran
	preterite	empedrí	empedrares	empedrà	empedràrem	empedràreu	empedraren
	conditional	empedraria	empedraries	empedraria	empedraríem	empedraríeu	empedrarien
subjunctive		jo	tu	ell/ella vostè	nosaltres nós	vosaltres vós	ells/elles vostès
	present	empedri	empedris	empedri	empedrem	empedreu	empedrin
	imperfect	empedrés	empedressis	empedrés	empedréssim	empedréssiu	empedressin
imperative		—	tu	vostè	nosaltres	vosaltres vós	vostès
	affirmative	—	empedra	empedri	empedrem	empedreu	empedrin
	negative (no)	—	no empedris	no empedri	no empedrem	no empedreu	no empedrin

Galician

Etymology

From en- +‎ pedra.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /empeˈðɾaɾ/

Verb

empedrar (first-person singular present empedro, first-person singular preterite empedrei, past participle empedrado)

1. to pave
2. (archaic, law) to impound, shut up a building

Conjugation

    Conjugation of empedrar

	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	empedrar
Personal	empedrar	empedrares	empedrar	empedrarmos	empedrardes	empedraren
Gerund
	empedrando
Past participle
Masculine	empedrado			empedrados
Feminine	empedrada			empedradas
Indicative
Present	empedro	empedras	empedra	empedramos	empedrades	empedran
Imperfect	empedraba	empedrabas	empedraba	empedrabamos	empedrabades	empedraban
Preterite	empedrei	empedraches	empedrou	empedramos	empedrastes	empedraron
Pluperfect	empedrara	empedraras	empedrara	empedraramos	empedrarades	empedraran
Future	empedrarei	empedrarás	empedrará	empedraremos	empedraredes	empedrarán
Conditional	empedraría	empedrarías	empedraría	empedrariamos	empedrariades	empedrarían
Subjunctive
Present	empedre	empedres	empedre	empedremos	empedredes	empedren
Imperfect	empedrase	empedrases	empedrase	empedrásemos	empedrásedes	empedrasen
Future	empedrar	empedrares	empedrar	empedrarmos	empedrardes	empedraren
Imperative
Affirmative		empedra	empedre	empedremos	empedrade	empedren
Negative (non)		non empedres	non empedre	non empedremos	non empedredes	non empedren

    Reintegrated conjugation of empedrar (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	empedrar
Personal	empedrar	empedrares	empedrar	empedrarmos	empedrardes	empedrarem
Gerund
	empedrando
Past participle
Masculine	empedrado			empedrados
Feminine	empedrada			empedradas
Indicative
Present	empedro	empedras	empedra	empedramos	empedrades, empedrais	empedram
Imperfect	empedrava	empedravas	empedrava	empedrávamos	empedrávades, empedráveis, empedrávais1	empedravam
Preterite	empedrei	empedraste, empedrache1	empedrou	empedramos	empedrastes	empedrárom, empedraram
Pluperfect	empedrara	empedraras	empedrara	empedráramos	empedrárades, empedráreis, empedrárais1	empedraram
Future	empedrarei	empedrarás	empedrará	empedraremos	empedraredes, empedrareis	empedrarám, empedrarão
Conditional	empedraria	empedrarias	empedraria	empedraríamos	empedraríades, empedraríeis, empedraríais1	empedrariam
Subjunctive
Present	empedre	empedres	empedre	empedremos	empedredes, empedreis	empedrem
Imperfect	empedrasse	empedrasses	empedrasse	empedrássemos	empedrássedes, empedrásseis	empedrassem
Future	empedrar	empedrares	empedrar	empedrarmos	empedrardes	empedrarem
Imperative
Affirmative		empedra	empedre	empedremos	empedrade, empedrai	empedrem
Negative (nom)		nom empedres	nom empedre	nom empedremos	nom empedredes, nom empedreis	nom empedrem

¹Less recommended.

Related terms

• pedra

References

• Barreiro, Xavier Varela; Guinovart, Xavier Gómez (2006–2018), “empedrar”, in Corpus Xelmírez: corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval [Corpus Xelmírez: linguistic corpus of Medieval Galicia] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “empedrar”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• “empedrar”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2026
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “empedrar”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “empedrar”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

Portuguese

Etymology

From em- +‎ pedra (“stone”) +‎ -ar.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): (careful pronunciation) /ẽ.peˈdɾa(ʁ)/ [ẽ.peˈdɾa(h)], (natural pronunciation) /ĩ.peˈdɾa(ʁ)/ [ĩ.peˈdɾa(h)]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): (careful pronunciation) /ẽ.peˈdɾa(ʁ)/ [ẽ.peˈdɾa(h)], (natural pronunciation) /ĩ.peˈdɾa(ʁ)/ [ĩ.peˈdɾa(h)]
  • (São Paulo) IPA^(key): (careful pronunciation) /ẽ.peˈdɾa(ɾ)/, (natural pronunciation) /ĩ.peˈdɾa(ɾ)/
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): (careful pronunciation) /ẽ.peˈdɾa(ʁ)/ [ẽ.peˈdɾa(χ)], (natural pronunciation) /ĩ.peˈdɾa(ʁ)/ [ĩ.peˈdɾa(χ)]
  • (Caipira) IPA^(key): (careful pronunciation) /ẽ.peˈdɾa(ɻ)/, (natural pronunciation) /ĩ.peˈdɾa(ɻ)/

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ẽ.pɨˈdɾaɾ/ [ẽ.pɨˈðɾaɾ]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ẽ.pɨˈdɾaɾ/ [ẽ.pɨˈðɾaɾ]
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /ẽ.pɨˈdɾa.ɾi/ [ẽ.pɨˈðɾa.ɾi]

• Hyphenation: em‧pe‧drar

Verb

empedrar (first-person singular present empedro, first-person singular preterite empedrei, past participle empedrado)

1. (transitive) to pave
2. (transitive, reflexive) to harden, to turn into stone

Conjugation

    Conjugation of empedrar (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	empedrar
Personal	empedrar	empedrares	empedrar	empedrarmos	empedrardes	empedrarem
Gerund
	empedrando
Past participle
Masculine	empedrado			empedrados
Feminine	empedrada			empedradas
Indicative
Present	empedro	empedras	empedra	empedramos	empedrais	empedram
Imperfect	empedrava	empedravas	empedrava	empedrávamos	empedráveis	empedravam
Preterite	empedrei	empedraste	empedrou	empedramos1, empedrámos2	empedrastes	empedraram
Pluperfect	empedrara	empedraras	empedrara	empedráramos	empedráreis	empedraram
Future	empedrarei	empedrarás	empedrará	empedraremos	empedrareis	empedrarão
Conditional	empedraria	empedrarias	empedraria	empedraríamos	empedraríeis	empedrariam
Subjunctive
Present	empedre	empedres	empedre	empedremos	empedreis	empedrem
Imperfect	empedrasse	empedrasses	empedrasse	empedrássemos	empedrásseis	empedrassem
Future	empedrar	empedrares	empedrar	empedrarmos	empedrardes	empedrarem
Imperative
Affirmative		empedra	empedre	empedremos	empedrai	empedrem
Negative (não)		não empedres	não empedre	não empedremos	não empedreis	não empedrem

¹Brazilian Portuguese.
²European Portuguese.

Further reading

• “empedrar”, in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), São Paulo: Editora Melhoramentos, 2015–2026, →ISBN

Spanish

Etymology

From em- +‎ piedra (“stone”) +‎ -ar.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /empeˈdɾaɾ/ [ẽm.peˈð̞ɾaɾ]
• Rhymes: -aɾ
• Syllabification: em‧pe‧drar

Verb

empedrar (first-person singular present empiedro, first-person singular preterite empedré, past participle empedrado)

1. (transitive) to pave

   empedrar o cubrir con piedras ― to pave or to cover with stones

2. (figuratively, transitive) to strew, scatter

   empedrar de citas ― to strew with quotations

Conjugation

    Conjugation of empedrar (e-ie alternation) (See Appendix:Spanish verbs)

infinitive			empedrar
gerund			empedrando
past participle				masculine		feminine
		singular		empedrado		empedrada
		plural		empedrados		empedradas
		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	empiedro	empiedrastú empedrásvos	empiedra	empedramos	empedráis	empiedran
	imperfect	empedraba	empedrabas	empedraba	empedrábamos	empedrabais	empedraban
	preterite	empedré	empedraste	empedró	empedramos	empedrasteis	empedraron
	future	empedraré	empedrarás	empedrará	empedraremos	empedraréis	empedrarán
	conditional	empedraría	empedrarías	empedraría	empedraríamos	empedraríais	empedrarían
subjunctive		yo	tú vos	él/ella/ello usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ellos/ellas ustedes
	present	empiedre	empiedrestú empedrésvos2	empiedre	empedremos	empedréis	empiedren
	imperfect (ra)	empedrara	empedraras	empedrara	empedráramos	empedrarais	empedraran
	imperfect (se)	empedrase	empedrases	empedrase	empedrásemos	empedraseis	empedrasen
	future1	empedrare	empedrares	empedrare	empedráremos	empedrareis	empedraren
imperative		—	tú vos	usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ustedes
	affirmative		empiedratú empedrávos	empiedre	empedremos	empedrad	empiedren
	negative		no empiedres	no empiedre	no empedremos	no empedréis	no empiedren

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

    Selected combined forms of empedrar (e-ie 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 empedrar	dative	empedrarme	empedrarte	empedrarle, empedrarse	empedrarnos	empedraros	empedrarles, empedrarse
	accusative	empedrarme	empedrarte	empedrarlo, empedrarla, empedrarse	empedrarnos	empedraros	empedrarlos, empedrarlas, empedrarse
with gerund empedrando	dative	empedrándome	empedrándote	empedrándole, empedrándose	empedrándonos	empedrándoos	empedrándoles, empedrándose
	accusative	empedrándome	empedrándote	empedrándolo, empedrándola, empedrándose	empedrándonos	empedrándoos	empedrándolos, empedrándolas, empedrándose
with informal second-person singular tuteo imperative empiedra	dative	empiédrame	empiédrate	empiédrale	empiédranos	not used	empiédrales
	accusative	empiédrame	empiédrate	empiédralo, empiédrala	empiédranos	not used	empiédralos, empiédralas
with informal second-person singular voseo imperative empedrá	dative	empedrame	empedrate	empedrale	empedranos	not used	empedrales
	accusative	empedrame	empedrate	empedralo, empedrala	empedranos	not used	empedralos, empedralas
with formal second-person singular imperative empiedre	dative	empiédreme	not used	empiédrele, empiédrese	empiédrenos	not used	empiédreles
	accusative	empiédreme	not used	empiédrelo, empiédrela, empiédrese	empiédrenos	not used	empiédrelos, empiédrelas
with first-person plural imperative empedremos	dative	not used	empedrémoste	empedrémosle	empedrémonos	empedrémoos	empedrémosles
	accusative	not used	empedrémoste	empedrémoslo, empedrémosla	empedrémonos	empedrémoos	empedrémoslos, empedrémoslas
with informal second-person plural imperative empedrad	dative	empedradme	not used	empedradle	empedradnos	empedraos	empedradles
	accusative	empedradme	not used	empedradlo, empedradla	empedradnos	empedraos	empedradlos, empedradlas
with formal second-person plural imperative empiedren	dative	empiédrenme	not used	empiédrenle	empiédrennos	not used	empiédrenles, empiédrense
	accusative	empiédrenme	not used	empiédrenlo, empiédrenla	empiédrennos	not used	empiédrenlos, empiédrenlas, empiédrense

Derived terms

• el infierno está empedrado de buenas intenciones

See also

• adoquinar
• pavimentar

Further reading

• “empedrar”, 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