punzar

Spanish

Etymology

Inherited from Vulgar Latin *puntiāre < *punctiāre, from Latin punctus, perfect passive participle of pungō (“prick, sting”) (compare Portuguese punçar, Catalan punxar, Italian ponzare). Alternatively, regressively derived from punzón.^[1] See also punchar (a variant possibly taken from a Mozarabic form^[2]) and the derivative pinchar.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /punˈθaɾ/ [pũn̟ˈθaɾ] (Equatorial Guinea, Spain)
IPA^(key): /punˈsaɾ/ [pũnˈsaɾ] (Latin America, Philippines)
Rhymes: -aɾ
Syllabification: pun‧zar

Verb

punzar (first-person singular present punzo, first-person singular preterite puncé, past participle punzado)

(transitive) to perforate, punch
(intransitive) to sting, twinge

Conjugation

Conjugation of punzar (c-z alternation) (See Appendix:Spanish verbs)

		singular			plural
infinitive			punzar
gerund			punzando
past participle				masculine		feminine
		singular		punzado		punzada
		plural		punzados		punzadas
		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	punzo	punzas^{^tú} punzás^{^vos}	punza	punzamos	punzáis	punzan
	imperfect	punzaba	punzabas	punzaba	punzábamos	punzabais	punzaban
	preterite	puncé	punzaste	punzó	punzamos	punzasteis	punzaron
	future	punzaré	punzarás	punzará	punzaremos	punzaréis	punzarán
	conditional	punzaría	punzarías	punzaría	punzaríamos	punzaríais	punzarían

subjunctive		yo	tú vos	él/ella/ello usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ellos/ellas ustedes
	present	punce	punces^{^tú} puncés^{^vos²}	punce	puncemos	puncéis	puncen
	imperfect (ra)	punzara	punzaras	punzara	punzáramos	punzarais	punzaran
	imperfect (se)	punzase	punzases	punzase	punzásemos	punzaseis	punzasen
	future¹	punzare	punzares	punzare	punzáremos	punzareis	punzaren

imperative		—	tú vos	usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ustedes
	affirmative		punza^{^tú} punzá^{^vos}	punce	puncemos	punzad	puncen
	negative		no punces	no punce	no puncemos	no puncéis	no puncen

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

Selected combined forms of punzar (c-z 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 punzar	dative	punzarme	punzarte	punzarle, punzarse	punzarnos	punzaros	punzarles, punzarse
with infinitive punzar	accusative	punzarme	punzarte	punzarlo, punzarla, punzarse	punzarnos	punzaros	punzarlos, punzarlas, punzarse

with gerund punzando	dative	punzándome	punzándote	punzándole, punzándose	punzándonos	punzándoos	punzándoles, punzándose
with gerund punzando	accusative	punzándome	punzándote	punzándolo, punzándola, punzándose	punzándonos	punzándoos	punzándolos, punzándolas, punzándose

with informal second-person singular tuteo imperative punza	dative	púnzame	púnzate	púnzale	púnzanos	not used	púnzales
	accusative	púnzame	púnzate	púnzalo, púnzala	púnzanos	not used	púnzalos, púnzalas

with informal second-person singular voseo imperative punzá	dative	punzame	punzate	punzale	punzanos	not used	punzales
	accusative	punzame	punzate	punzalo, punzala	punzanos	not used	punzalos, punzalas

with formal second-person singular imperative punce	dative	púnceme	not used	púncele, púncese	púncenos	not used	púnceles
with formal second-person singular imperative punce	accusative	púnceme	not used	púncelo, púncela, púncese	púncenos	not used	púncelos, púncelas

with first-person plural imperative puncemos	dative	not used	puncémoste	puncémosle	puncémonos	puncémoos	puncémosles
with first-person plural imperative puncemos	accusative	not used	puncémoste	puncémoslo, puncémosla	puncémonos	puncémoos	puncémoslos, puncémoslas

with informal second-person plural imperative punzad	dative	punzadme	not used	punzadle	punzadnos	punzaos	punzadles
with informal second-person plural imperative punzad	accusative	punzadme	not used	punzadlo, punzadla	punzadnos	punzaos	punzadlos, punzadlas

with formal second-person plural imperative puncen	dative	púncenme	not used	púncenle	púncennos	not used	púncenles, púncense
with formal second-person plural imperative puncen	accusative	púncenme	not used	púncenlo, púncenla	púncennos	not used	púncenlos, púncenlas, púncense

Derived terms

Related terms

References

^ “punzar”, 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
^ Coromines, Joan; Pascual, José Antonio (1983–1991), “punzar”, in Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico [Critical Castilian and Hispanic etymological dictionary]‎^[1] (in Spanish), Madrid: Gredos