Spanish Word of the Day: Llorar (cry)

Llorar comes from the Latin word lacrimare, which means to shed tears. In English, it translates to cry. It is related to the Latin word lacrima, meaning tear in English. In Spanish, the word tear is lágrima, which sounds quite similar to Latin.

Llorar is a regular -er verb that follows normal conjugation rules. Below are the past, present, and future tenses.

The literal meaning of the word llorar is the act of shedding tears. This crying action is often associated with emociones (emotions). You might shed lágrimas (tears) when you’re triste (sad), feliz (happy), frustrado (frustrated), or when you experience empatía (empathy). 

• Cuando me casé, mi papá lloró de alegría. = When I got married, my dad cried with joy.
• Mis amigos lloraron de frustración cuando perdieron sus pasaportes y la embajada no los ayudó. = My friends cried in frustration when they lost their passports and the embassy didn’t help them.
• Lloré mucho cuando vi la pobreza en la que vive la comunidad. = I cried a lot when I saw the poverty in which the community lives.

Interesting Fact:

In many Latin American countries, crying is perfectly okay! It is accepted as a normal way to express all types of sentimientos (feelings). Friends and family play a significant role in this, often coming together to show apoyo (support), especially when someone fallece (passes away). 

However, traditional ideas about género (gender) have a strong influence on men since they are often expected to be tough and to hide their emociones (emotions). Fortunately, these ideas are slowly changing, and crying is becoming more accepted among both genders.

The word llorar is also used figuratively to describe emotional experiences that don’t involve physical lágrimas (tears) but instead convey deep sentimientos (feelings). 

It is used to express tristeza (sadness) or a sense of pérdida (loss) or desesperación (despair) that’s felt internally. A person who feels an emotional burden might use this word figuratively. For example, Mi alma llora por las injusticias que están pasando en la vida de estos niños. (My soul cries for the injustices happening in these children’s lives.)

It’s also common to see the word used to express collective grief or sorrow that a comunidad (community) or sociedad (society) feels due to trauma or loss. For example, El país llora por las vidas que se llevo el huracán. (The country cries for the lives that the hurricane took.)

Interesting Fact:

Llorar (crying) in Latin America is seen as a normal part of life that connects people. Aside from being evoked through art, it is also evident in communal events where families and friends gather such as funerales (funerals), eventos religiosos (religious events), ceremonias (ceremonies), and other celebraciones (celebrations).

Llorar is often used with other words to provide context or detail about how the crying was done. Below are some of the most common combinations:

• llorar silenciosamente= to cry silently
• llorar de alegría = to cry tears of joy
• llorar de emoción = to cry from emotion
• llorar de risa = to cry from laughter
• llorar de tristeza  = to cry out of sadness
• llorar a gritos = to cry out loud
• llorar de desesperación = to cry out of desperation
• llorar en vano = to cry in vain or to lament without result
• llorar sin consuelo = to cry without comfort or inconsolably
• llorar desconsoladamente = to cry inconsolably, to weep uncontrollably

Synonyms for llorar include lamentar (lament), aullar (wail), clamar (to cry out), sollozar (to sob). A related term is gemir (to moan or groan), which is often associated with crying out in pain or sadness. A more colloquial term is lloriqueo, which means to whine or sob. It implies a more childish form of crying or that someone is whining. The word is often used to tell someone to stop whining, deja el lloriqueo. Another colloquial word is desgarrarse. It means to be torn apart and is used metaphorically for deep emotional pain.

Spanish idioms featuring ‘llorar’