Today’s Spanish word of the day is “esperar”.
It’s a verb that can mean “to wait”, “to expect” or “to hope”.
The word “esperar” comes from Latin sperare, which meant “to hope”. Some related Spanish words include “esperanza” (“hope”) and “desesperanza” (“despair”). The English words “despair” and “desperate” also come from Latin sperare, with the de- prefix signaling that these words refer to a lack of hope rather than the presence of it.
“Esperar” is a regular verb, so it’s conjugated in the same way as other regular -ar verbs.
Example sentences
Esperamos el autobús durante 20 minutos.
We waited for the bus for 20 minutes.
La empresa espera un crecimiento del 20% este trimestre.
The company expects 20% growth this quarter.
Esperé toda la mañana para que llegara el paquete.
I waited all morning for the package to arrive.
Esperamos que el clima mejore pronto.
We hope the weather improves soon.
Estoy esperando una llamada importante.
I am waiting for an important call.
