Llenar means 'to fill', and it is a regular -ar verb useful in practical and descriptive contexts. Llené el vaso de agua (I filled the glass with water) — note llenar de for filling with something. The reflexive llenarse means to fill up or get full: el cine se llenó (the cinema filled up). It is the natural opposite of vaciar ('to empty'). The related adjective lleno ('full') is essential everyday vocabulary. As a regular -ar verb the conjugation is predictable, and the pattern llenar de is the detail to remember.
Quick facts
Llenar (to fill) is a regular -ar verb.
Real sentences across different tenses — the kind of thing you'd actually say or write.
Llené el vaso de agua (I filled the glass with water).
Llenar de + thing it's filled with.
Reflexive llenarse: se llenó.
Vaciar (to empty) is the opposite.
Fixed expressions worth knowing — they come up in listening, reading and writing tasks.
Idiomatic expressions
llenar 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 llenar, 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 llenar now →Three questions, no account needed. Type the form, then press Enter or tap Check.
yo: lleno, tú: llenas, él: llena, nosotros: llenamos, vosotros: llenáis, ellos: llenan
The past participle is llenado (he llenado) and the gerund is llenando (estoy llenando).
Verbs that are easy to confuse with llenar or that behave like it.
Llenar 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.