"To dream" in Spanish is soñar, and "a dream" is el sueño. The verb turns its o into ue in most forms, so "I dream" is yo sueño. What you dream about comes after con: Sueña con otra vida.
Written by Isabella García, Language Content Manager at WordyUpdated October 4, 2026
Hear "soñar" in real movie scenes
A childhood dream and a bedtime goodbye. Each video starts and stops on that line.
Sí, todas las niñas sueñan con ser tenderas.
Sure, every little girl dreams of being a shopkeeper.
At the hotel desk she says she always wanted to run a hotel, and he answers with a smile. The dream comes after con, here as an infinitive: con ser.
From Candice Renoir · Spanish audio
Sueña bonito.
Sweet dreams.
The same verb works as a bedtime goodbye, word for word "dream pretty". Coming from a puppet, it sounds a little creepy.
From Escalofríos 2 · Spanish audio
Dream phrases in Spanish
From bedtime wishes to a firm no.
Spanish
English
soñar con algo
to dream about something
tener un sueño
to have a dream
la pesadilla
nightmare
¡Dulces sueños!
Sweet dreams!
Que sueñes con los angelitos.
Sleep tight. (said to children, literally "dream of the little angels")
¡Ni lo sueñes!
Don't even think about it!
Tip:El sueño americano is the American dream, and un sueño hecho realidad is a dream come true.
Grammar: soñar con, el sueño
Four points about the verb and the noun.
So- or sue-
Where the stress hits the stem, the o splits into ue: sueño, sueñas, sueña, sueñan. The nosotros form stays soñamos.
Dream with con
Spanish dreams with something: Sueño con viajar.Sueña con otra vida. Con works before a noun or an infinitive.
One noun, two meanings
el sueño covers a dream and sleepiness: un sueño bonito is a nice dream, while tengo sueño means I'm sleepy.
Talk about a goal
Use mi sueño es plus an infinitive: Mi sueño es abrir un supermercado. My dream is to open a supermarket.
Example sentences
Sentences from the Wordy Spanish course. Tap to listen.
Sueña con otra vida.
He dreams of another life.
Yo también sueño con otra vida.
I dream of another life too.
Le gusta soñar con otra vida.
She likes to dream about a different life.
Me gusta soñar.
I like to dream.
Common mistakes
Mistakes learners make with this word, and how to fix them.
✗Yo soño
✓Yo sueño
In the yo form the stress lands on the stem, so so- grows into sue-.
✗Sueño de otra vida
✓Sueño con otra vida
English dreams of or about something. Spanish uses con.
✗Tengo sueño (meaning I have a dream)
✓Tengo un sueño
Without un, tengo sueño tells people you're sleepy.
Practice: 3 quick exercises
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1 of 3 · Watch and choose
What do you hear in the video?
The other 33 exercises on this topic are in the app.
How to remember it
Without the tilde, sonar means to ring. Picture the wavy line over the ñ as a little cloud, and soñar becomes to dream.
The noun is el sueño and the verb is soñar. Tengo un sueño means I have a dream, and Sueño con viajar means I dream of traveling.
How do you say "sweet dreams" in Spanish?
Dulces sueños. You'll also hear Sueña bonito, and parents often tell children Que sueñes con los angelitos.
How do you say "dream about" in Spanish?
Soñar con: Anoche soñé contigo means I dreamed about you last night. Spanish uses con where English uses about or of.
Does sueño mean sleep or dream?
Both. With an article it's usually a dream, un sueño, and in tener sueño it means being sleepy.
Learn "dream" in Spanish from real movie scenes
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