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The most common way to say “I am tired” in Spanish is to say estoy cansado (masculine) or estoy cansada (feminine). As the days get shorter and your list of quehaceres (chores/tasks) feels ever longer, you may want to tell someone you’re tired, but there are also many other words you could use for when you’re sleepy, exhausted, or worn out.
Learning words like cansado/cansada (tired) in Spanish can help you make small-talk conversation, excuse yourself when you’re low on energy, or even discuss medical symptoms. In this guide, you’ll learn the most basic way to say you’re tired with a brief Spanish grammar breakdown, so you can use any of the words in the synonyms section to broaden your Spanish vocabulary and express more specifically how you feel.
How to say ‘I am tired’ in Spanish
If you’re feeling low on energy, you could go with the most basic translation of “I’m tired” in Spanish or you could choose another synonym for “tired” to express the degree of tiredness you feel. Spanish is a language with a rich vocabulary, so you can easily let someone know that you’re not just “tired,” but “exhausted” or “overwhelmed” in Spanish.
Estoy cansado/cansada
If you’re a man, you’ll say estoy cansado (I am tired), whereas women will say estoy cansada (I am tired). This is a common answer to the question “how are you?” in Spanish and will open up the opportunity for a longer conversation with a friend or colleague.
- Él está cansado. = He is tired.
- Las chicas están cansadas. = The girls are tired.
- Estamos cansados. = We are tired. (More than one person, at least one male)
Remember that the word cansado is an adjective and must follow Spanish gender rules. Spanish adjectives need to match the noun they describe in both grammatical gender and number, so there are four forms. Which one you choose will depend on who you are describing as tired.
For example, a woman would describe herself as cansada, using the feminine singular form of the adjective. You might describe a team of soccer players as cansados after a match.
| Spanish | Gender/Number |
| cansado | masculine/singular |
| cansada | feminine/singular |
| cansados | masculine/plural |
| cansadas | feminine/plural |
Should you use ser or estar? Both soy and estoy mean “I am” in Spanish, but they’re used in different situations. Being tired is usually a temporary state or condition, for which you will use the verb estar (to be) in Spanish.
Ser is used for defining characteristics that tend to be more permanent. This is why the expression is estoy cansado. When using adjectives to describe people, states, or things, it’s important to know the differences between ser vs. estar.
Other words for ‘tired’ in Spanish
Now that you know how to say “I am tired” in Spanish, you can swap the adjective cansado for any number of other Spanish adjectives for feelings and emotions.
Here are some synonyms of “tired” to help you express how you really feel. Remember to use the form that matches the subject, following the same pattern as cansado.
| Spanish | English |
| agotado | exhausted/worn out |
| cascado | worn out/broken down |
| derrotado | beat/dead tired |
| destrozado | worked into the ground |
| exhausto | exhausted |
| extenuado | exhausted/overextended |
| fatigado | fatigued |
| trabajado | overworked |
Tengo sueño
Another way to translate “I’m tired” in Spanish is tengo sueño, but its meaning is closer to “I’m sleepy.” This is because the word sueño has two meanings: el sueño means “sleep,” as in horas de sueño (hours of sleep), and un sueño means “a dream.”
Say tengo sueño when you wake up in the morning and want to press the botón de “repetir” (snooze button), or when your eyelids are heavy and you feel like dozing off.
You’ll notice that tengo sueño uses the verb tener (to have) instead of the verb estar (to be) in estoy cansado. Some words and phrases do not translate word-for-word, and tengo is used in several expressions in Spanish that would translate to “to be” in English.
- Tengo sed. = I’m thirsty.
- Tengo hambre. = I’m hungry.
- Tengo razón. = I’m right.
- Tengo veinticuatro años. = I’m 24 years old.
There are no changes to any of these words, because there are no adjectives in these expressions. The words sueño, sed, and hambre are all nouns. So, use them the same way no matter who you’re referring to.
How to ask ‘Are you tired?’ in Spanish
Find out if your friend or family member is tired by asking ¿Estás cansado?/¿Estás cansada? Choose the form of the adjective that matches the gender of the person you’re asking. If you want to know if they are sleepy, ask, ¿Tienes sueño?
Formal vs. informal ways of asking
If you’re in a formal situation where you need to ask “Are you tired?” in Spanish, you’ll use the usted vs. tu form of the verb.
- ¿Usted está cansado?/¿Usted está cansada? = Are you tired?
- ¿Usted tiene sueño? = Are you sleepy?
In some cultures, people even talk to their elderly family members with the usted form. Your doctor might ask you these questions using the formal form of address since you don’t have a close social relationship. Knowing how to navigate formal and informal situations may also make it easier for you to offer “help” in Spanish if you encounter someone who looks really tired and may need a break.
Relax and unwind with Spanish immersion
If you’re feeling cansado, don’t forget to descansar (to rest). Relaxing and doing something you enjoy is an important part of life. You can learn Spanish while you watch Spanish TV with subtitles, listen to music, or read a familiar children’s book.
Learning to speak Spanish and understanding concepts like these is much easier when you use a proven method like Rosetta Stone’s Dynamic Immersion, which will introduce you to sentences and conversations the way they’d sound in real life. When you already comprehend the meaning, studying some grammar rules helps you notice patterns that you can apply to even more situations.
