Estoy cansado.
I'm tired.
When you have no energy left to talk, these two words say it all. The -o ending tells you a man is speaking.
From Dr. House · Spanish audio
Spanish vocabularyA1 · Beginner
How to say "tired" in Spanish
cansado
adjectivefeminine: cansadaplural: cansadosused with estar
"Tired" in Spanish is cansado, or cansada when the tired person is a woman or a girl. Use it with estar: Estoy cansado means I'm tired.
Hear "cansado" in real movie scenes
One man, one woman, and both are worn out. Each video starts and stops on that line.
Yo estoy un poco cansada
I'm a little tired.
A woman is talking about herself, so the word ends in -a. As an excuse, the line works the same for anyone.
How tired are you?
Six ways to say it, from a little tired to completely done.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| un poco cansado / cansada | a little tired |
| muy cansado / cansada | very tired |
| agotado / agotada | exhausted |
| tengo sueño | I'm sleepy |
| estoy cansado de esperar | I'm tired of waiting |
| es cansado | it's tiring |
Tip: Tengo sueño means you want to sleep. Estoy cansado covers any kind of tired, from work, sport or a long day.
Grammar: estar cansado
Four things to get right.
Four endings
cansado, cansada, cansados, cansadas. The ending matches the person who is tired: Ella está cansada.Use estar
Being tired is a state, so use estar: Estoy cansado. With ser the meaning changes: El viaje es cansado means the trip is tiring.Tired of something
Add de and a noun or a verb: Estoy cansado de esperar. I'm tired of waiting.The soft d
Between two vowels the d is soft, close to the th in this: kahn-SAH-doh.Example sentences
Sentences from the Wordy Spanish course. Tap to listen.
Estoy muy cansado.
I'm very tired.
Yo estoy un poco cansada.
I'm a little tired.
Sí, y estoy muy cansado.
Yes, and I'm very tired.
Estoy cansada y me duele la mano.
I'm tired and my hand hurts.
Common mistakes
Mistakes learners make with this word, and how to fix them.
✗Soy cansado
✓Estoy cansado
Tiredness is a state, so use estar. Soy cansado sounds like you're a tiring person.
✗Estoy cansado (a woman about herself)
✓Estoy cansada
The ending follows the speaker's gender when you talk about yourself.
✗cansado por esperar
✓cansado de esperar
Tired of something takes de, not por.
Practice: 3 quick exercises
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How to remember it
Cansado starts like can't. When you're cansado, you can't take one more step.
Questions about "tired" in Spanish
How do you say tired in Spanish?
Cansado, or cansada for a woman. I'm tired is Estoy cansado or Estoy cansada.
How do you say "I'm very tired" in Spanish?
Estoy muy cansado, or muy cansada for a woman. If you're completely worn out, say Estoy agotado.
How do you say sleepy in Spanish?
Tengo sueño, which literally means I have sleep. Cansado is tired in a general sense.
Do you use ser or estar with cansado?
Estar: Estoy cansado. With ser it means tiring: El viaje es cansado.
