fregar

Catalan

Etymology

Inherited from Latin fricāre. First attested in 1250.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Northern, Balearic, Central) [fɾəˈɣa]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [fɾeˈɣaɾ]
• IPA^(key): (Northwestern) [fɾeˈɣa]

• Audio (Barcelona):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -a(ɾ)
• Hyphenation: fre‧gar

Verb

fregar (first-person singular present frego, first-person singular preterite freguí, past participle fregat); root stress: (Northern) /e̞/; (Balearic) /ə/; (Central) /ɛ/; (Northwestern, Valencia) /e/(transitive)

1. (also intransitive) to rub
2. to graze, to brush
3. to wash (dishes) (to clean with water)

Conjugation

    Central Catalan conjugation of fregar (first conjugation, g-gu alternation)

infinitive			fregar
gerund			fregant
past participle				masculine		feminine
		singular		fregat		fregada
		plural		fregats		fregades
person		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		jo	tu	ell/ella vostè	nosaltres nós	vosaltres vós	ells/elles vostès
	present	frego	fregues	frega	freguem	fregueu	freguen
	imperfect	fregava	fregaves	fregava	fregàvem	fregàveu	fregaven
	future	fregaré	fregaràs	fregarà	fregarem	fregareu	fregaran
	preterite	freguí	fregares	fregà	fregàrem	fregàreu	fregaren
	conditional	fregaria	fregaries	fregaria	fregaríem	fregaríeu	fregarien
subjunctive		jo	tu	ell/ella vostè	nosaltres nós	vosaltres vós	ells/elles vostès
	present	fregui	freguis	fregui	freguem	fregueu	freguin
	imperfect	fregués	freguessis	fregués	freguéssim	freguéssiu	freguessin
imperative		—	tu	vostè	nosaltres	vosaltres vós	vostès
	affirmative	—	frega	fregui	freguem	fregueu	freguin
	negative (no)	—	no freguis	no fregui	no freguem	no fregueu	no freguin

Derived terms

• frec
• fregadís
• fregadissa
• fregador
• fregall
• fregament
• pal de fregar

Further reading

• “fregar”, 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
• “fregar”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2026
• “fregar” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• Alcover, Antoni Maria; Moll, Francesc de Borja (1963), “fregar”, in Diccionari català-valencià-balear (in Catalan)
• “fregar” in ésAdir, El portal lingüístic de la Corporació Catalana de Mitjans Audiovisuals.

Galician

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *bʰreyH-

Proto-Indo-European *bʰriH-o-s

Proto-Italic *frios

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 friō

Latin -ic-

▲

Latin -ō

Latin -icō

Latin fricāre

Galician fregar

Inherited from Latin fricāre. First attested in the 15th century. Compare English fray.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /fɾeˈɡaɾ/ [fɾeˈɣ̞ɑɾ]

• IPA^(key): (standard) /fɾeˈɡaɾ/ [fɾeˈɣ̞ɑɾ]
• IPA^(key): (gheada) /fɾeˈħaɾ/ [fɾeˈħɑɾ]

• Rhymes: -aɾ
• Hyphenation: fre‧gar

Verb

fregar (first-person singular present frego, first-person singular preterite freguei, past participle fregado)

1. to wash (dishes, clothes) (to clean with water)
2. to scrub, brush
3. to rub, graze
   • 1409, J. L. Pensado Tomé, editor, Rufus, Jordanus: Tratado de Albeitaria, Santiago de Compostela: Centro Ramón Piñeiro, page 109:

     Et teña a cabeça cuberta senpre con pano de llaã et hu[n]teno ameude fregandoo adefora con manteiga

     And he should have his head always covered with a wool cloth and they should smear him often, rubbing him outside with lard

Conjugation

    Conjugation of fregar (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	fregar
Personal	fregar	fregares	fregar	fregarmos	fregardes	fregaren
Gerund
	fregando
Past participle
Masculine	fregado			fregados
Feminine	fregada			fregadas
Indicative
Present	frego	fregas	frega	fregamos	fregades	fregan
Imperfect	fregaba	fregabas	fregaba	fregabamos	fregabades	fregaban
Preterite	freguei	fregaches	fregou	fregamos	fregastes	fregaron
Pluperfect	fregara	fregaras	fregara	fregaramos	fregarades	fregaran
Future	fregarei	fregarás	fregará	fregaremos	fregaredes	fregarán
Conditional	fregaría	fregarías	fregaría	fregariamos	fregariades	fregarían
Subjunctive
Present	fregue	fregues	fregue	freguemos	freguedes	freguen
Imperfect	fregase	fregases	fregase	fregásemos	fregásedes	fregasen
Future	fregar	fregares	fregar	fregarmos	fregardes	fregaren
Imperative
Affirmative		frega	fregue	freguemos	fregade	freguen
Negative (non)		non fregues	non fregue	non freguemos	non freguedes	non freguen

    Reintegrated conjugation of fregar (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	fregar
Personal	fregar	fregares	fregar	fregarmos	fregardes	fregarem
Gerund
	fregando
Past participle
Masculine	fregado			fregados
Feminine	fregada			fregadas
Indicative
Present	frego	fregas	frega	fregamos	fregades, fregais	fregam
Imperfect	fregava	fregavas	fregava	fregávamos	fregávades, fregáveis, fregávais1	fregavam
Preterite	freguei	fregaste, fregache1	fregou	fregamos	fregastes	fregárom, fregaram
Pluperfect	fregara	fregaras	fregara	fregáramos	fregárades, fregáreis, fregárais1	fregaram
Future	fregarei	fregarás	fregará	fregaremos	fregaredes, fregareis	fregarám, fregarão
Conditional	fregaria	fregarias	fregaria	fregaríamos	fregaríades, fregaríeis, fregaríais1	fregariam
Subjunctive
Present	fregue	fregues	fregue	freguemos	freguedes, fregueis	freguem
Imperfect	fregasse	fregasses	fregasse	fregássemos	fregássedes, fregásseis	fregassem
Future	fregar	fregares	fregar	fregarmos	fregardes	fregarem
Imperative
Affirmative		frega	fregue	freguemos	fregade, fregai	freguem
Negative (nom)		nom fregues	nom fregue	nom freguemos	nom freguedes, nom fregueis	nom freguem

¹Less recommended.

Derived terms

• frega
• fregaduxo
• freganzo

Related terms

• esfregar
• refregar

References

• Seoane, Ernesto Xosé González; Granja, María Álvarez de la; Agrelo, Ana Isabel Boullón (2006–2022), “fregar”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval [Dictionary of dictionaries of Medieval Galician] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Barreiro, Xavier Varela; Guinovart, Xavier Gómez (2006–2018), “fregar”, 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 Santamarina, editor (2006–2013), “fregar”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• “fregar”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2026
• Antón Santamarina, Ernesto X. González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “fregar”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “fregar”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN
• “fregar”, in Dicionário Estraviz de galego (in Galician), 2014–2026

Spanish

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *bʰreyH-

Proto-Indo-European *bʰriH-o-s

Proto-Italic *frios

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 friō

Latin -ic-

▲

Latin -ō

Latin -icō

Latin fricāre

Old Spanish fregar

Spanish fregar

Inherited from Old Spanish fregar, from Latin fricāre. Compare English fray, Italian fregàre.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fɾeˈɡaɾ/ [fɾeˈɣ̞aɾ]
• Rhymes: -aɾ
• Syllabification: fre‧gar

Verb

fregar (first-person singular present friego, first-person singular preterite fregué, past participle fregado)

1. to wash (to clean with a sponge, brush, rag)

   Ponte a fregar los platos, que ya hay muchos.

   Start doing the dishes, there's already a lot.

2. to scrub (to rub hard)

   fregar el suelo ― to scrub the floor

3. (colloquial, Latin America) to peeve, annoy

   Synonyms: joder, molestar, huevear, cargar

   ¡Dejá de fregar! ― Stop annoying [me]!

   Ella siempre está fregándolo, pero él tiene paciencia.

   She's always annoying him, but he's patient.

4. (colloquial, possibly vulgar, Latin America) to screw over, to ruin, to fuck

   Synonyms: cagar, chingar (Mexico), joder, arruinar

Usage notes

• In nonstandard usage conjugated without e-ie alternation, like cenar (“to dine”).

Conjugation

    Conjugation of fregar (e-ie alternation; g-gu alternation) (See Appendix:Spanish verbs)

infinitive			fregar
gerund			fregando
past participle				masculine		feminine
		singular		fregado		fregada
		plural		fregados		fregadas
		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	friego	friegastú fregásvos	friega	fregamos	fregáis	friegan
	imperfect	fregaba	fregabas	fregaba	fregábamos	fregabais	fregaban
	preterite	fregué	fregaste	fregó	fregamos	fregasteis	fregaron
	future	fregaré	fregarás	fregará	fregaremos	fregaréis	fregarán
	conditional	fregaría	fregarías	fregaría	fregaríamos	fregaríais	fregarían
subjunctive		yo	tú vos	él/ella/ello usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ellos/ellas ustedes
	present	friegue	frieguestú freguésvos2	friegue	freguemos	freguéis	frieguen
	imperfect (ra)	fregara	fregaras	fregara	fregáramos	fregarais	fregaran
	imperfect (se)	fregase	fregases	fregase	fregásemos	fregaseis	fregasen
	future1	fregare	fregares	fregare	fregáremos	fregareis	fregaren
imperative		—	tú vos	usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ustedes
	affirmative		friegatú fregávos	friegue	freguemos	fregad	frieguen
	negative		no friegues	no friegue	no freguemos	no freguéis	no frieguen

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

    Selected combined forms of fregar (e-ie alternation; 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 fregar	dative	fregarme	fregarte	fregarle, fregarse	fregarnos	fregaros	fregarles, fregarse
	accusative	fregarme	fregarte	fregarlo, fregarla, fregarse	fregarnos	fregaros	fregarlos, fregarlas, fregarse
with gerund fregando	dative	fregándome	fregándote	fregándole, fregándose	fregándonos	fregándoos	fregándoles, fregándose
	accusative	fregándome	fregándote	fregándolo, fregándola, fregándose	fregándonos	fregándoos	fregándolos, fregándolas, fregándose
with informal second-person singular tuteo imperative friega	dative	friégame	friégate	friégale	friéganos	not used	friégales
	accusative	friégame	friégate	friégalo, friégala	friéganos	not used	friégalos, friégalas
with informal second-person singular voseo imperative fregá	dative	fregame	fregate	fregale	freganos	not used	fregales
	accusative	fregame	fregate	fregalo, fregala	freganos	not used	fregalos, fregalas
with formal second-person singular imperative friegue	dative	friégueme	not used	friéguele, friéguese	friéguenos	not used	friégueles
	accusative	friégueme	not used	friéguelo, friéguela, friéguese	friéguenos	not used	friéguelos, friéguelas
with first-person plural imperative freguemos	dative	not used	freguémoste	freguémosle	freguémonos	freguémoos	freguémosles
	accusative	not used	freguémoste	freguémoslo, freguémosla	freguémonos	freguémoos	freguémoslos, freguémoslas
with informal second-person plural imperative fregad	dative	fregadme	not used	fregadle	fregadnos	fregaos	fregadles
	accusative	fregadme	not used	fregadlo, fregadla	fregadnos	fregaos	fregadlos, fregadlas
with formal second-person plural imperative frieguen	dative	friéguenme	not used	friéguenle	friéguennos	not used	friéguenles, friéguense
	accusative	friéguenme	not used	friéguenlo, friéguenla	friéguennos	not used	friéguenlos, friéguenlas, friéguense

In nonstandard usage:

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

infinitive			fregar
gerund			fregando
past participle				masculine		feminine
		singular		fregado		fregada
		plural		fregados		fregadas
		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	frego	fregastú fregásvos	frega	fregamos	fregáis	fregan
	imperfect	fregaba	fregabas	fregaba	fregábamos	fregabais	fregaban
	preterite	fregué	fregaste	fregó	fregamos	fregasteis	fregaron
	future	fregaré	fregarás	fregará	fregaremos	fregaréis	fregarán
	conditional	fregaría	fregarías	fregaría	fregaríamos	fregaríais	fregarían
subjunctive		yo	tú vos	él/ella/ello usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ellos/ellas ustedes
	present	fregue	freguestú freguésvos2	fregue	freguemos	freguéis	freguen
	imperfect (ra)	fregara	fregaras	fregara	fregáramos	fregarais	fregaran
	imperfect (se)	fregase	fregases	fregase	fregásemos	fregaseis	fregasen
	future1	fregare	fregares	fregare	fregáremos	fregareis	fregaren
imperative		—	tú vos	usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ustedes
	affirmative		fregatú fregávos	fregue	freguemos	fregad	freguen
	negative		no fregues	no fregue	no freguemos	no freguéis	no freguen

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

    Selected combined forms of fregar (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 fregar	dative	fregarme	fregarte	fregarle, fregarse	fregarnos	fregaros	fregarles, fregarse
	accusative	fregarme	fregarte	fregarlo, fregarla, fregarse	fregarnos	fregaros	fregarlos, fregarlas, fregarse
with gerund fregando	dative	fregándome	fregándote	fregándole, fregándose	fregándonos	fregándoos	fregándoles, fregándose
	accusative	fregándome	fregándote	fregándolo, fregándola, fregándose	fregándonos	fregándoos	fregándolos, fregándolas, fregándose
with informal second-person singular tuteo imperative frega	dative	frégame	frégate	frégale	fréganos	not used	frégales
	accusative	frégame	frégate	frégalo, frégala	fréganos	not used	frégalos, frégalas
with informal second-person singular voseo imperative fregá	dative	fregame	fregate	fregale	freganos	not used	fregales
	accusative	fregame	fregate	fregalo, fregala	freganos	not used	fregalos, fregalas
with formal second-person singular imperative fregue	dative	frégueme	not used	fréguele, fréguese	fréguenos	not used	frégueles
	accusative	frégueme	not used	fréguelo, fréguela, fréguese	fréguenos	not used	fréguelos, fréguelas
with first-person plural imperative freguemos	dative	not used	freguémoste	freguémosle	freguémonos	freguémoos	freguémosles
	accusative	not used	freguémoste	freguémoslo, freguémosla	freguémonos	freguémoos	freguémoslos, freguémoslas
with informal second-person plural imperative fregad	dative	fregadme	not used	fregadle	fregadnos	fregaos	fregadles
	accusative	fregadme	not used	fregadlo, fregadla	fregadnos	fregaos	fregadlos, fregadlas
with formal second-person plural imperative freguen	dative	fréguenme	not used	fréguenle	fréguennos	not used	fréguenles, fréguense
	accusative	fréguenme	not used	fréguenlo, fréguenla	fréguennos	not used	fréguenlos, fréguenlas, fréguense

Derived terms

• fregar la cachimba
• fregar la pita
• friegaplatos
• no friegues

Related terms

• fregadero
• fregado
• fregona

Further reading

• “fregar”, 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
• “fregar”, in Diccionario de americanismos [Dictionary of Americanisms] (in Spanish), Association of Academies of the Spanish Language [Spanish: Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española], 2010