hacer falta

Spanish

Etymology

Compare Catalan fer falta.

Verb

hacer falta (first-person singular present hago falta, first-person singular preterite hice falta, past participle hecho falta)

1. (idiomatic, usually in the third person) to be necessary, have need of

   Hola señora, ¿le hace falta algo?

   Hello ma'am, do you need something?

   No hace falta que me lo digas.

   You don't need to tell it to me.

   Olvidé poner azafrán en la lista de la compra, así que si bien se lo mencioné a él ayer, hace falta recordarle que lo necesito para el arroz.

   I forgot to put saffron on the shopping list, so even though I mentioned it to him yesterday, he needs to be reminded that I need it for the rice.

2. (idiomatic) to miss (someone)

   Me haces tanta falta cuando no estás.

   I miss you so much when you're not around.

   Admítelo. Te hace falta.

   Admit it. You miss them.

Usage notes

• Much like gustar, the second sense has the subject and indirect playing opposite roles as in English, so "me haces falta" means "I miss you" instead of "you miss me" as the structure might imply.

Further reading

• “hacer falta”, 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