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, no account needed. Type the form, then press Enter or tap Check.
yo: llamo, tú: llamas, él: llama, nosotros: llamamos, vosotros: llamáis, ellos: llaman
The past participle is llamado (he llamado) and the gerund is llamando (estoy llamando).
Llamar 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.