Llamar means 'to call', and you meet it on day one through the reflexive llamarse, which is how Spanish says what something is named: me llamo…, ¿cómo te llamas?. As a regular -ar verb the forms are simple. Beyond names, llamar covers phoning someone (te llamo más tarde) and knocking at a door. The phrase llamar la atención means 'to attract attention'. Because introductions are the first thing you do in any speaking task, the reflexive llamarse is among the most immediately useful pieces of Spanish you can own.
Quick facts
Llamar (to call) is a regular -ar verb.
Real sentences across different tenses — the kind of thing you'd actually say or write.
Me llamo Ana (my name is Ana); ¿cómo te llamas?.
Te llamo luego (I'll call you later).
Llamar a la puerta (to knock at the door).
Llamar la atención (to attract attention / stand out).
Fixed expressions worth knowing — they come up in listening, reading and writing tasks.
Idiomatic expressions
The reflexive llamarse is how you say what something is called: me llamo… not *yo soy llamado. Don't translate 'my name is' word-for-word. Also note llamar takes a personal a before people: llamé a mi madre, not *llamé mi madre.
llamar 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 llamar, 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 llamar now →Three questions. Press Enter to check each answer.
yo: llamo, tú: llamas, él: llama, nosotros: llamamos, vosotros: llamáis, ellos: llaman
Llamar is a regular -ar verb following the standard -ar pattern.
Use llamar in multiple tenses to show range — present, preterite and future at minimum. This is a key criterion for higher GCSE marks.
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. Llamar 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.