Today’s Spanish word of the day is “quedar”.
It’s a verb meaning “to stay,” or “to remain”. Here’s a quick example:
- Nos quedamos en casa todo el fin de semana. – We stayed at home all weekend.
However, “quedar” is quite a versatile verb that can have a lot of other meanings depending on the context. These include “to meet” or “to meet up”, “to agree”, “to fit” and “to be located”. It can also be used in a similar way to the phrase “to be left…” in English, for example “to be left speechless”. Below are some examples of these different uses.
“To meet” or “to meet up”:
- ¿Quedamos mañana después del trabajo? – Shall we meet tomorrow after work?
“To agree”:
- Quedamos en que tú llevarías el postre y yo la comida. – We agreed that you would bring dessert and I would bring the food.
“To fit”:
- Este vestido me queda un poco grande. – This dress is a little big on me.
“To be located”:
- El supermercado queda al lado del banco. – The supermarket is located next to the bank.
“To be left…”:
- Me quedé sin palabras cuando vi lo que había sucedido. – I was [left] speechless when I saw what had happened.
The word “quedar” comes from the Latin quietare, meaning “to rest” or “to be quiet”. This is also the root of the English words “quiet” and “acquiesce”.
Quedar is a regular verb, so it’s conjugated in the same way as other -ar verbs.
Example sentences
Me quedé en casa todo el fin de semana.
I stayed at home all weekend.
¿Queda leche para el desayuno?
Is there any milk left for breakfast?
Voy a quedar con mis amigos este sábado.
I’m going to meet up with my friends this Saturday.
Quedaron en no hablar más del tema.
They agreed not to talk about the subject anymore.
Estos zapatos me quedan un poco apretados.
These shoes are a little tight on me.
