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 verb. Make sure you know the endings for each tense — especially the preterite and subjunctive, which is where marks are most often lost.
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. Press Enter to check each answer.
yo: deseo, tú: deseas, él: desea, nosotros: deseamos, vosotros: deseáis, ellos: desean
Desear is a regular -ar verb following the standard -ar pattern.
Use desear in multiple tenses to show range — present, preterite and future at minimum. This is a key criterion for higher GCSE marks.
Verbs that are easy to confuse with desear or that behave like it.
This reference is written for UK GCSE and A-Level Spanish learners and their teachers. It is designed for exam revision: every form is checked against standard conjugation rules, and the examples reflect the registers and topics that come up in the AQA, Edexcel and Eduqas specifications. Desear is a high-frequency verb and appears often in exam papers. For active recall, use the free practice tool rather than only reading the tables.