gatear

Spanish

Etymology

From gato (“cat”) +‎ -ear.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡateˈaɾ/ [ɡa.t̪eˈaɾ]
• Rhymes: -aɾ
• Syllabification: ga‧te‧ar

Verb

gatear (first-person singular present gateo, first-person singular preterite gateé, past participle gateado)

1. to crawl (on hands and knees like a baby or toddler)
2. to walk like a cat
3. to inflict a wound with one's claws; to scratch

Conjugation

    Conjugation of gatear (See Appendix:Spanish verbs)

infinitive			gatear
gerund			gateando
past participle				masculine		feminine
		singular		gateado		gateada
		plural		gateados		gateadas
		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	gateo	gateastú gateásvos	gatea	gateamos	gateáis	gatean
	imperfect	gateaba	gateabas	gateaba	gateábamos	gateabais	gateaban
	preterite	gateé	gateaste	gateó	gateamos	gateasteis	gatearon
	future	gatearé	gatearás	gateará	gatearemos	gatearéis	gatearán
	conditional	gatearía	gatearías	gatearía	gatearíamos	gatearíais	gatearían
subjunctive		yo	tú vos	él/ella/ello usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ellos/ellas ustedes
	present	gatee	gateestú gateésvos2	gatee	gateemos	gateéis	gateen
	imperfect (ra)	gateara	gatearas	gateara	gateáramos	gatearais	gatearan
	imperfect (se)	gatease	gateases	gatease	gateásemos	gateaseis	gateasen
	future1	gateare	gateares	gateare	gateáremos	gateareis	gatearen
imperative		—	tú vos	usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ustedes
	affirmative		gateatú gateávos	gatee	gateemos	gatead	gateen
	negative		no gatees	no gatee	no gateemos	no gateéis	no gateen

¹Rare; now chiefly used in legal language.
²Argentine and Uruguayan voseo prefers the tuteo-form for the present subjunctive.

    Selected combined forms of gatear

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 gatear	dative	gatearme	gatearte	gatearle, gatearse	gatearnos	gatearos	gatearles, gatearse
	accusative	gatearme	gatearte	gatearlo, gatearla, gatearse	gatearnos	gatearos	gatearlos, gatearlas, gatearse
with gerund gateando	dative	gateándome	gateándote	gateándole, gateándose	gateándonos	gateándoos	gateándoles, gateándose
	accusative	gateándome	gateándote	gateándolo, gateándola, gateándose	gateándonos	gateándoos	gateándolos, gateándolas, gateándose
with informal second-person singular tuteo imperative gatea	dative	gatéame	gatéate	gatéale	gatéanos	not used	gatéales
	accusative	gatéame	gatéate	gatéalo, gatéala	gatéanos	not used	gatéalos, gatéalas
with informal second-person singular voseo imperative gateá	dative	gateame	gateate	gateale	gateanos	not used	gateales
	accusative	gateame	gateate	gatealo, gateala	gateanos	not used	gatealos, gatealas
with formal second-person singular imperative gatee	dative	gatéeme	not used	gatéele, gatéese	gatéenos	not used	gatéeles
	accusative	gatéeme	not used	gatéelo, gatéela, gatéese	gatéenos	not used	gatéelos, gatéelas
with first-person plural imperative gateemos	dative	not used	gateémoste	gateémosle	gateémonos	gateémoos	gateémosles
	accusative	not used	gateémoste	gateémoslo, gateémosla	gateémonos	gateémoos	gateémoslos, gateémoslas
with informal second-person plural imperative gatead	dative	gateadme	not used	gateadle	gateadnos	gateaos	gateadles
	accusative	gateadme	not used	gateadlo, gateadla	gateadnos	gateaos	gateadlos, gateadlas
with formal second-person plural imperative gateen	dative	gatéenme	not used	gatéenle	gatéennos	not used	gatéenles, gatéense
	accusative	gatéenme	not used	gatéenlo, gatéenla	gatéennos	not used	gatéenlos, gatéenlas, gatéense

Derived terms

• agateador
• gateamiento

Further reading

• “gatear”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025
• Inglés sin Barreras: Diccionario Webster-Velázquez, Los Angeles: Lexicon, 1999