Pues baila muy bien.
Well, she dances very well.
Two guys at the edge of the disco nod in approval at a dancer on the floor, and baila is the form for he or she.
Spanish vocabularyA1 · Beginner
How to say "dance" in Spanish
bailar
verbregular -arnoun: el baileart form: la danza
To dance in Spanish is bailar: Bailo muy bien. As a noun, a dance is el baile, while la danza means dance as an art, the kind you study or watch on a stage. A dancer is el bailarín or la bailarina.
Hear "bailar" in real movie scenes
One person who can dance and one who swears he can't. Each video starts and stops on that line.
Pero, Chloe, no bailo nada de nada.
But Chloe, I don't dance at all.
The night turns into a party, but he only shuffles in place and admits dancing isn't his thing, and nada de nada makes his no extra strong.
From Uncharted · Spanish audio
Bailar, baile, danza: the dance words
One verb, two nouns and a few phrases for the dance floor.
| Spanish | English | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| bailar | to dance | Regular -ar verb: bailo, bailas, baila. |
| el baile | dance, ball | A dance party, a dance style or the dancing itself. |
| la danza | dance as an art | Ballet, contemporary or folk dance: clases de danza. |
| el bailarín, la bailarina | dancer | La bailarina is also the word for a ballerina. |
| la pista de baile | dance floor | Where everyone ends up by the end of the party. |
| sacar a bailar | to ask someone to dance | Me sacó a bailar. He asked me to dance. |
Tip: Put the style right after the verb, with no article: bailar salsa, bailar tango, bailar flamenco.
Grammar: bailar in the present
Four points for the dance floor.
A regular -ar verb
bailo, bailas, baila, bailamos, bailáis, bailan. Drop -ar and add the usual endings.Where the stress falls
The infinitive stresses the end: bye-LAR. In the forms the stress moves to the front: BYE-loh, BYE-lahs.A style, a partner
No article before the style: Bailo salsa. Use con for the person you dance with: Bailo con Ana.Shall we dance?
The nosotros form works as an invitation: ¿Bailamos? For a direct question, say ¿Quieres bailar?Example sentences
Sentences from the Wordy Spanish course. Tap to listen.
Bailo muy bien.
I dance very well.
¿Tú bailas salsa?
Do you dance salsa?
Me gusta mucho la danza.
I like dance a lot.
Ha tomado clases de danza desde los tres años.
She's been taking dance classes since she was three.
Common mistakes
Mistakes learners make with this word, and how to fix them.
✗Yo danzo (at a party)
✓Yo bailo
Danzar exists, but it sounds formal or artistic. At a party, people say bailar.
✗Bailo la salsa
✓Bailo salsa
With bailar, the name of the style usually goes without an article.
✗bye-LOH (pronouncing bailo)
✓BYE-loh
Only the infinitive stresses the end. In bailo, the stress falls on bai.
Practice: 3 quick exercises
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1 of 3 · Watch and choose
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How to remember it
Bailar sounds like "bye-LAR". Picture yourself waving bye to the couch and heading straight for the dance floor.
Questions about "dance" in Spanish
How do you say dance in Spanish?
The verb is bailar: ¿Bailas? The noun is el baile, or la danza when you mean dance as an art form.
What's the difference between baile and danza?
Baile is the everyday word for dancing and for a dance party. Danza is dance as an art or a tradition, as in danza clásica or danza contemporánea.
How do you say "Do you want to dance?" in Spanish?
¿Quieres bailar? The shorter ¿Bailamos? means "Shall we dance?"
How do you say dancer in Spanish?
A male dancer is el bailarín and a female dancer is la bailarina. The plurals are los bailarines and las bailarinas.
