Cambiar means 'to change', and it is a versatile regular -ar verb that covers changing objects, plans, money and yourself. Cambié de opinión (I changed my mind), quiero cambiar dinero (I want to change money). The reflexive cambiarse means to change clothes or to move house. Because change is a theme across so many topics — environment, technology, growing up — cambiar is genuinely useful for more sophisticated writing. As a regular verb the forms are predictable, so the main thing is recognising the different shades of meaning and the handy phrase cambiar de + noun.
Quick facts
Cambiar (to change) is a regular -ar verb.
Real sentences across different tenses — the kind of thing you'd actually say or write.
Cambié los planes (I changed the plans).
Cambiar de opinión: cambié de opinión.
Cambiar dinero; reflexive cambiarse = to get changed.
Cambiar de + noun: cambiar de tema (to change the subject).
Fixed expressions worth knowing — they come up in listening, reading and writing tasks.
Idiomatic expressions
cambiar is a regular -ar verb — it follows the standard -ar pattern in every tense. That makes it a good one to drill: if you know cambiar, you know the template for all regular -ar verbs.
Type conjugations from memory and get instant feedback. That's how you actually build the automatic recall the exam needs — not from reading tables.
Practice cambiar now →Three questions, no account needed. Type the form, then press Enter or tap Check.
yo: cambio, tú: cambias, él: cambia, nosotros: cambiamos, vosotros: cambiáis, ellos: cambian
The past participle is cambiado (he cambiado) and the gerund is cambiando (estoy cambiando).
Verbs that are easy to confuse with cambiar or that behave like it.
Cambiar is on the AQA, Edexcel and Eduqas GCSE Spanish vocabulary lists. Compare the exam boards.
Written by Daniel Holmes for GCSE & A-Level Spanish students.