Desear means 'to wish' or 'to want', and it is a regular -ar verb that is slightly more formal than querer. Deseo viajar por el mundo (I wish to travel the world), te deseo suerte (I wish you luck). In set phrases it expresses good wishes — te deseo lo mejor (I wish you the best). Desear que is followed by the subjunctive, which makes it useful for higher-level grammar at A-Level. Because it lifts the register of wanting and wishing, desear is a nice alternative to querer in more formal writing, and its forms are fully regular.
Quick facts
Desear (to wish) is a regular -ar verb.
Real sentences across different tenses — the kind of thing you'd actually say or write.
Deseo viajar (I wish to travel).
Te deseo suerte (I wish you luck).
Desear que + subjunctive: deseo que vengas.
A more formal alternative to querer.
Fixed expressions worth knowing — they come up in listening, reading and writing tasks.
Idiomatic expressions
desear 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 desear, 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 desear now →Three questions, no account needed. Type the form, then press Enter or tap Check.
yo: deseo, tú: deseas, él: desea, nosotros: deseamos, vosotros: deseáis, ellos: desean
The past participle is deseado (he deseado) and the gerund is deseando (estoy deseando).
Desear is on the AQA and Eduqas GCSE Spanish vocabulary lists, but not on Edexcel.
Verbs that are easy to confuse with desear or that behave like it.
Desear is on the AQA and Eduqas GCSE Spanish vocabulary lists, but not on Edexcel. Compare the exam boards.
Written by Daniel Holmes for GCSE & A-Level Spanish students.