rifar

Catalan

Etymology

From rifa +‎ -ar.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Northern, Balearic, Central, Northwestern) [riˈfa]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [riˈfaɾ]

Verb

rifar (first-person singular present rifo, first-person singular preterite rifí, past participle rifat)

1. (transitive) to raffle (off)
2. (pronominal) to mock, to tease

   Synonym: burlar-se

3. (pronominal) to tatter, to be torn apart by the wind

Conjugation

    Central Catalan conjugation of rifar (first conjugation)

infinitive			rifar
gerund			rifant
past participle				masculine		feminine
		singular		rifat		rifada
		plural		rifats		rifades
person		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		jo	tu	ell/ella vostè	nosaltres nós	vosaltres vós	ells/elles vostès
	present	rifo	rifes	rifa	rifem	rifeu	rifen
	imperfect	rifava	rifaves	rifava	rifàvem	rifàveu	rifaven
	future	rifaré	rifaràs	rifarà	rifarem	rifareu	rifaran
	preterite	rifí	rifares	rifà	rifàrem	rifàreu	rifaren
	conditional	rifaria	rifaries	rifaria	rifaríem	rifaríeu	rifarien
subjunctive		jo	tu	ell/ella vostè	nosaltres nós	vosaltres vós	ells/elles vostès
	present	rifi	rifis	rifi	rifem	rifeu	rifin
	imperfect	rifés	rifessis	rifés	riféssim	riféssiu	rifessin
imperative		—	tu	vostè	nosaltres	vosaltres vós	vostès
	affirmative	—	rifa	rifi	rifem	rifeu	rifin
	negative (no)	—	no rifis	no rifi	no rifem	no rifeu	no rifin

Derived terms

• rifa
• rifaire

Related terms

• sortejar

Further reading

• “rifar”, 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

Galician

Etymology

Probably onomatopoeic, or perhaps from a Germanic source. Compare English raffle.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /riˈfaɾ/

Verb

rifar (first-person singular present rifo, first-person singular preterite rifei, past participle rifado)

1. (transitive) to rip
2. (transitive) to draw (game)
3. (intransitive) to argue; to quarrel; to fight
4. (intransitive) to scold, to rebuke, to reprimand, to tell off

   —Sabes que hora é? —Mamá, non me rifes...

   —Do you know what time it is? —Mom, do not tell me off...

5. (intransitive) to become enemy

   —Agora es hipster ou estás rifado co barbeiro?

   —Are you a hipster now or are you angry with the barber?

Conjugation

    Conjugation of rifar

	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	rifar
Personal	rifar	rifares	rifar	rifarmos	rifardes	rifaren
Gerund
	rifando
Past participle
Masculine	rifado			rifados
Feminine	rifada			rifadas
Indicative
Present	rifo	rifas	rifa	rifamos	rifades	rifan
Imperfect	rifaba	rifabas	rifaba	rifabamos	rifabades	rifaban
Preterite	rifei	rifaches	rifou	rifamos	rifastes	rifaron
Pluperfect	rifara	rifaras	rifara	rifaramos	rifarades	rifaran
Future	rifarei	rifarás	rifará	rifaremos	rifaredes	rifarán
Conditional	rifaría	rifarías	rifaría	rifariamos	rifariades	rifarían
Subjunctive
Present	rife	rifes	rife	rifemos	rifedes	rifen
Imperfect	rifase	rifases	rifase	rifásemos	rifásedes	rifasen
Future	rifar	rifares	rifar	rifarmos	rifardes	rifaren
Imperative
Affirmative		rifa	rife	rifemos	rifade	rifen
Negative (non)		non rifes	non rife	non rifemos	non rifedes	non rifen

    Reintegrated conjugation of rifar (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	rifar
Personal	rifar	rifares	rifar	rifarmos	rifardes	rifarem
Gerund
	rifando
Past participle
Masculine	rifado			rifados
Feminine	rifada			rifadas
Indicative
Present	rifo	rifas	rifa	rifamos	rifades, rifais	rifam
Imperfect	rifava	rifavas	rifava	rifávamos	rifávades, rifáveis, rifávais1	rifavam
Preterite	rifei	rifaste, rifache1	rifou	rifamos	rifastes	rifárom, rifaram
Pluperfect	rifara	rifaras	rifara	rifáramos	rifárades, rifáreis, rifárais1	rifaram
Future	rifarei	rifarás	rifará	rifaremos	rifaredes, rifareis	rifarám, rifarão
Conditional	rifaria	rifarias	rifaria	rifaríamos	rifaríades, rifaríeis, rifaríais1	rifariam
Subjunctive
Present	rife	rifes	rife	rifemos	rifedes, rifeis	rifem
Imperfect	rifasse	rifasses	rifasse	rifássemos	rifássedes, rifásseis	rifassem
Future	rifar	rifares	rifar	rifarmos	rifardes	rifarem
Imperative
Affirmative		rifa	rife	rifemos	rifade, rifai	rifem
Negative (nom)		nom rifes	nom rife	nom rifemos	nom rifedes, nom rifeis	nom rifem

¹Less recommended.

Related terms

• rifa (“quarrel”)
• rifón

References

• Antón Santamarina, editor (2006–2013), “rifar”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• “rifar”, 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), “rifar”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “rifar”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /riˈfar/
• Rhymes: -ar
• Hyphenation: ri‧fàr

Verb

rifar (apocopated)

1. apocopic form of rifare

Spanish

Etymology

Etymology tree

Spanish rifa

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 -āre

Old Spanish -ar

Spanish -ar

Spanish rifar

From rifa (“raffle”) + -ar.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /riˈfaɾ/ [riˈfaɾ]
• Rhymes: -aɾ
• Syllabification: ri‧far

Verb

rifar (first-person singular present rifo, first-person singular preterite rifé, past participle rifado)

1. to raffle off, draw lots

   Synonym: sortear

Conjugation

    Conjugation of rifar (See Appendix:Spanish verbs)

infinitive			rifar
gerund			rifando
past participle				masculine		feminine
		singular		rifado		rifada
		plural		rifados		rifadas
		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	rifo	rifastú rifásvos	rifa	rifamos	rifáis	rifan
	imperfect	rifaba	rifabas	rifaba	rifábamos	rifabais	rifaban
	preterite	rifé	rifaste	rifó	rifamos	rifasteis	rifaron
	future	rifaré	rifarás	rifará	rifaremos	rifaréis	rifarán
	conditional	rifaría	rifarías	rifaría	rifaríamos	rifaríais	rifarían
subjunctive		yo	tú vos	él/ella/ello usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ellos/ellas ustedes
	present	rife	rifestú rifésvos2	rife	rifemos	riféis	rifen
	imperfect (ra)	rifara	rifaras	rifara	rifáramos	rifarais	rifaran
	imperfect (se)	rifase	rifases	rifase	rifásemos	rifaseis	rifasen
	future1	rifare	rifares	rifare	rifáremos	rifareis	rifaren
imperative		—	tú vos	usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ustedes
	affirmative		rifatú rifávos	rife	rifemos	rifad	rifen
	negative		no rifes	no rife	no rifemos	no riféis	no rifen

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

Related terms

• rifa

Further reading

• “rifar”, 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