colocar

Asturian

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin collocāre (“place, put, assemble”). Compare the inherited doublet colgar.

Verb

colocar (first-person singular indicative present coloco, past participle colocáu)

1. to put, place
2. to tidy, tidy up

Conjugation

Conjugation of colocar

infinitive		colocar
gerund		colocando
past participle		m colocáu, f colocada, n colocao, m pl colocaos, f pl colocaes
person		first singular yo	second singular tu	third singular él/elli	first plural nosotros/nós	second plural vosotros/vós	third plural ellos
indicative	present	coloco	coloques	coloca	colocamos	colocáis	coloquen
	imperfect	colocaba	colocabes	colocaba	colocábemos, colocábamos	colocabeis, colocabais	colocaben
	preterite	coloqué	colocasti, coloquesti	colocó	coloquemos	colocastis, coloquestis	colocaron
	pluperfect	colocare, colocara	colocares, colocaras	colocare, colocara	colocáremos, colocáramos	colocareis, colocarais	colocaren, colocaran
	future	colocaré	colocarás	colocará	colocaremos	colocaréis	colocarán
	conditional	colocaría	colocaríes	colocaría	colocaríemos, colocaríamos	colocaríeis, colocaríais	colocaríen
subjunctive	present	coloque	coloques, colocas	coloque	coloquemos	coloquéis	coloquen, colocan
	imperfect	colocare, colocara	colocares, colocaras	colocare, colocara	colocáremos, colocáramos	colocareis, colocarais	colocaren, colocaran
imperative		—	coloca	—	—	colocái	—

Galician

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin collocāre (“place, put, assemble”). Compare the inherited doublet colgar.

Verb

colocar (first-person singular present coloco, first-person singular preterite coloquei, past participle colocado)

1. to put; place
2. to hire

   Synonyms: empregar, contratar

Conjugation

    Conjugation of colocar (c-qu alternation)

	Singular			Plural
	First-person (eu)	Second-person (ti)	Third-person (el / ela / Vde.)	First-person (nós)	Second-person (vós)	Third-person (eles / elas / Vdes.)
Infinitive
Impersonal	colocar
Personal	colocar	colocares	colocar	colocarmos	colocardes	colocaren
Gerund
	colocando
Past participle
Masculine	colocado			colocados
Feminine	colocada			colocadas
Indicative
Present	coloco	colocas	coloca	colocamos	colocades	colocan
Imperfect	colocaba	colocabas	colocaba	colocabamos	colocabades	colocaban
Preterite	coloquei	colocaches	colocou	colocamos	colocastes	colocaron
Pluperfect	colocara	colocaras	colocara	colocaramos	colocarades	colocaran
Future	colocarei	colocarás	colocará	colocaremos	colocaredes	colocarán
Conditional	colocaría	colocarías	colocaría	colocariamos	colocariades	colocarían
Subjunctive
Present	coloque	coloques	coloque	coloquemos	coloquedes	coloquen
Imperfect	colocase	colocases	colocase	colocásemos	colocásedes	colocasen
Future	colocar	colocares	colocar	colocarmos	colocardes	colocaren
Imperative
Affirmative		coloca	coloque	coloquemos	colocade	coloquen
Negative (non)		non coloques	non coloque	non coloquemos	non coloquedes	non coloquen

    Reintegrated conjugation of colocar (c-qu alternation) (See Appendix:Reintegrationism)

	Singular			Plural
	First-person (eu)	Second-person (ti / tu)	Third-person (ele / ela / você)	First-person (nós)	Second-person (vós)	Third-person (eles / elas / vocês)
Infinitive
Impersonal	colocar
Personal	colocar	colocares	colocar	colocarmos	colocardes	colocarem
Gerund
	colocando
Past participle
Masculine	colocado			colocados
Feminine	colocada			colocadas
Indicative
Present	coloco	colocas	coloca	colocamos	colocades, colocais	colocam
Imperfect	colocava	colocavas	colocava	colocávamos	colocávades, colocáveis, colocávais1	colocavam
Preterite	coloquei	colocaste, colocache1	colocou	colocamos	colocastes	colocárom, colocaram
Pluperfect	colocara	colocaras	colocara	colocáramos	colocárades, colocáreis, colocárais1	colocaram
Future	colocarei	colocarás	colocará	colocaremos	colocaredes, colocareis	colocarám, colocarão
Conditional	colocaria	colocarias	colocaria	colocaríamos	colocaríades, colocaríeis, colocaríais1	colocariam
Subjunctive
Present	coloque	coloques	coloque	coloquemos	coloquedes, coloqueis	coloquem
Imperfect	colocasse	colocasses	colocasse	colocássemos	colocássedes, colocásseis	colocassem
Future	colocar	colocares	colocar	colocarmos	colocardes	colocarem
Imperative
Affirmative		coloca	coloque	coloquemos	colocade, colocai	coloquem
Negative (nom)		nom coloques	nom coloque	nom coloquemos	nom coloquedes, nom coloqueis	nom coloquem

¹Less recommended.

Further reading

• “colocar”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2025
• “colocar” in Dicionário Estraviz de galego (2014).

Portuguese

Alternative forms

• collocar (pre-reform spelling)

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin collocāre (“to place, to put, to assemble”). Compare the inherited doublet colgar.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ko.loˈka(ʁ)/ [ko.loˈka(h)]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ko.loˈka(ʁ)/ [ko.loˈka(h)]
  • (São Paulo) IPA^(key): /ko.loˈka(ɾ)/
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /ko.loˈka(ʁ)/ [ko.loˈka(χ)]
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /ko.loˈka(ɻ)/

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ku.luˈkaɾ/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ku.luˈkaɾ/
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /ku.luˈka.ɾi/

• (Northeast Brazil) IPA^(key): /kɔ.lɔˈka(h)/
• (Rural Central Brazil) IPA^(key): /ku.luˈka(ɹ)/

• Audio (Portugal (Porto)):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: co‧lo‧car

Verb

colocar (first-person singular present coloco, first-person singular preterite coloquei, past participle colocado)

1. (transitive) to place; to put

   Synonyms: pôr, (informal) botar

   Antonyms: tirar, retirar

   Coloca as chaves em cima da mesa, faz favor. ― Put the keys on the table, please.

   • 1933, Graciliano Ramos, chapter I, in Cahetés‎, 1st edition, Rio de Janeiro: Schmidt, page 7:

     Fui collocar a chicara na bandeja.

     I went to set the teacup on the tray.

2. (transitive) to put [in a situation]

   Synonyms: pôr, deixar

   Não reclame, pois foi você mesmo que se colocou nessa situação. ― Don’t complain, you put yourself in this situation.

   • 1880, Maria Amalia Vaz de Carvalho, “O annel do diplomata [The diplomat’s ring]”, in Contos e phantasias [Short stories and fantasies]‎, 2nd edition, Lisbon: Parceria Antonio Maria Pereira, published 1905, page 146:

     O pobre rapaz, que conhecia a falsa posição em que se collocara com a sua phrase, sentia-se humilhado e como que vendido n’aquelle meio.

     The poor young lad, who knew the false position in which he had put himself with his phrase, felt humiliated and embarrassed in the group.

3. (transitive) to hire; to employ

   Synonyms: (more common) empregar, contratar

4. (transitive) to invest (to commit capital in the hope of financial return)

   Synonyms: (more common) investir, aplicar

5. (usually pronominal) to place (to earn a given spot in a competition’s result) [with em ‘in a position’ or entre (+ plural noun) ‘among a set of positions’]

   Synonym: ganhar

   Ele se colocou em último lugar na maratona. ― He got last place in the marathon.

   É praticamente impossível se colocar entre os três primeiros. ― It’s nearly impossible to place in the top three positions.

6. (transitive) to put forth [a question]

   A entrevistadora colocou uma pergunta interessante. ― The interviewer put forth an interesting question.

Conjugation

    Conjugation of colocar (c-qu alternation) (See Appendix:Portuguese verbs)

	Singular			Plural
	First-person (eu)	Second-person (tu)	Third-person (ele / ela / você)	First-person (nós)	Second-person (vós)	Third-person (eles / elas / vocês)
Infinitive
Impersonal	colocar
Personal	colocar	colocares	colocar	colocarmos	colocardes	colocarem
Gerund
	colocando
Past participle
Masculine	colocado			colocados
Feminine	colocada			colocadas
Indicative
Present	coloco	colocas	coloca	colocamos	colocais	colocam
Imperfect	colocava	colocavas	colocava	colocávamos	colocáveis	colocavam
Preterite	coloquei	colocaste	colocou	colocamos1, colocámos2	colocastes	colocaram
Pluperfect	colocara	colocaras	colocara	colocáramos	colocáreis	colocaram
Future	colocarei	colocarás	colocará	colocaremos	colocareis	colocarão
Conditional	colocaria	colocarias	colocaria	colocaríamos	colocaríeis	colocariam
Subjunctive
Present	coloque	coloques	coloque	coloquemos	coloqueis	coloquem
Imperfect	colocasse	colocasses	colocasse	colocássemos	colocásseis	colocassem
Future	colocar	colocares	colocar	colocarmos	colocardes	colocarem
Imperative
Affirmative		coloca	coloque	coloquemos	colocai	coloquem
Negative (não)		não coloques	não coloque	não coloquemos	não coloqueis	não coloquem

¹Brazilian Portuguese.
²European Portuguese.

Quotations

For quotations using this term, see Citations:colocar.

Derived terms

• colocação
• colocador
• colocar lenha na fogueira
• colocar o carro à frente dos bois
• colocar todos os ovos em uma única cesta

References

• LUFT, Celso Pedro. Microdicionário de língua portuguesa Luft. São Paulo, Brazil: Ática, 2000. →ISBN

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin collocāre (“place, put, assemble”). Compare the inherited doublet colgar. Cognate with English collocate and couch.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /koloˈkaɾ/ [ko.loˈkaɾ]
• Rhymes: -aɾ
• Syllabification: co‧lo‧car

Verb

colocar (first-person singular present coloco, first-person singular preterite coloqué, past participle colocado)

1. to place
2. to put

   Synonym: poner

3. to get in

   No pude colocar palabras.

   I couldn't get a word in.

4. (reflexive, slang) to take drugs
5. (transitive, slang) to intoxicate (stupefy by doping with chemical substances such as alcohol)

Conjugation

    Conjugation of colocar (c-qu alternation) (See Appendix:Spanish verbs)

infinitive			colocar
gerund			colocando
past participle				masculine		feminine
		singular		colocado		colocada
		plural		colocados		colocadas
		singular			plural
		1st person	2nd person	3rd person	1st person	2nd person	3rd person
indicative		yo	tú vos	él/ella/ello usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ellos/ellas ustedes
	present	coloco	colocastú colocásvos	coloca	colocamos	colocáis	colocan
	imperfect	colocaba	colocabas	colocaba	colocábamos	colocabais	colocaban
	preterite	coloqué	colocaste	colocó	colocamos	colocasteis	colocaron
	future	colocaré	colocarás	colocará	colocaremos	colocaréis	colocarán
	conditional	colocaría	colocarías	colocaría	colocaríamos	colocaríais	colocarían
subjunctive		yo	tú vos	él/ella/ello usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ellos/ellas ustedes
	present	coloque	coloquestú coloquésvos2	coloque	coloquemos	coloquéis	coloquen
	imperfect (ra)	colocara	colocaras	colocara	colocáramos	colocarais	colocaran
	imperfect (se)	colocase	colocases	colocase	colocásemos	colocaseis	colocasen
	future1	colocare	colocares	colocare	colocáremos	colocareis	colocaren
imperative		—	tú vos	usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ustedes
	affirmative		colocatú colocávos	coloque	coloquemos	colocad	coloquen
	negative		no coloques	no coloque	no coloquemos	no coloquéis	no coloquen

¹Mostly obsolete, now mainly used in legal language.
²Argentine and Uruguayan voseo prefers the tú form for the present subjunctive.

    Selected combined forms of colocar (c-qu alternation)

These forms are generated automatically and may not actually be used. Pronoun usage varies by region.

		singular			plural
		1st person	2nd person	3rd person	1st person	2nd person	3rd person
with infinitive colocar	dative	colocarme	colocarte	colocarle, colocarse	colocarnos	colocaros	colocarles, colocarse
	accusative	colocarme	colocarte	colocarlo, colocarla, colocarse	colocarnos	colocaros	colocarlos, colocarlas, colocarse
with gerund colocando	dative	colocándome	colocándote	colocándole, colocándose	colocándonos	colocándoos	colocándoles, colocándose
	accusative	colocándome	colocándote	colocándolo, colocándola, colocándose	colocándonos	colocándoos	colocándolos, colocándolas, colocándose
with informal second-person singular tú imperative coloca	dative	colócame	colócate	colócale	colócanos	not used	colócales
	accusative	colócame	colócate	colócalo, colócala	colócanos	not used	colócalos, colócalas
with informal second-person singular vos imperative colocá	dative	colocame	colocate	colocale	colocanos	not used	colocales
	accusative	colocame	colocate	colocalo, colocala	colocanos	not used	colocalos, colocalas
with formal second-person singular imperative coloque	dative	colóqueme	not used	colóquele, colóquese	colóquenos	not used	colóqueles
	accusative	colóqueme	not used	colóquelo, colóquela, colóquese	colóquenos	not used	colóquelos, colóquelas
with first-person plural imperative coloquemos	dative	not used	coloquémoste	coloquémosle	coloquémonos	coloquémoos	coloquémosles
	accusative	not used	coloquémoste	coloquémoslo, coloquémosla	coloquémonos	coloquémoos	coloquémoslos, coloquémoslas
with informal second-person plural imperative colocad	dative	colocadme	not used	colocadle	colocadnos	colocaos	colocadles
	accusative	colocadme	not used	colocadlo, colocadla	colocadnos	colocaos	colocadlos, colocadlas
with formal second-person plural imperative coloquen	dative	colóquenme	not used	colóquenle	colóquennos	not used	colóquenles, colóquense
	accusative	colóquenme	not used	colóquenlo, colóquenla	colóquennos	not used	colóquenlos, colóquenlas, colóquense

Derived terms

• colocación

Further reading

• “colocar”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 10 December 2024