ser

See also: Appendix:Variations of "ser"

English

Etymology 1

Noun

ser

1. Abbreviation of serial.

Etymology 2

From sir.

Noun

ser (plural sers)

1. (in some fantasy and sci-fi novels) An address or courtesy title to any person, especially if their gender and/or form of address are unknown.

   Would ser care to dine this evening?

   (The addition of quotations indicative of this usage is being sought:)

Anagrams

• -ers, ERS, ERs, ESR, RSE, Res., SRE, ers, res

Asturian

Etymology

From Latin sedeō, sedēre (“to sit, to reside”) sum (“to be”). The forms beginning with f- are from Latin fui.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈseɾ/, [ˈseɾ]

Verb

ser

1. to be

Conjugation

Impersonal forms
Infinitive		ser
Gerund		siendo
Past participle		sío
Personal forms
		yo	tu	él~elli/-a/-o	nosotros/-es~nós	vosotros/-es~vós	ellos/-es
Indicative	Present	soi so	yes	ye	somos	sois	son
	Imperfect preterite	yera	yeres	yera	yéremos~yéramos	yereis~yerais	yeren
	Perfect preterite	fui	fuesti fuisti	foi	fuemos fuimos	fuestis fuistis	fueron
	Pluperfect preterite	fuera~fuere	fueras~fueres	fuera~fuere	fuéramos~fuéremos	fuerais~fuereis	fueran~fueren
		yo	tu	él~elli/-a/-o	nosotros/-es~nós	vosotros/-es~vós	ellos/-es
Subjunctive	Present	seya	seyas	seya	seyamos	seyáis	seyan
	Imperfect preterite	fuera~fuere	fueras~fueres	fuera~fuere	fuéramos~fuéremos	fuerais~fuereis	fueran~fueren
		yo	tu	él~elli/-a/-o	nosotros/-es~nós	vosotros/-es~vós	ellos/-es
Potential	Future	seré	serás	será	seremos	seréis	serán
	Conditional	sería~sedría	seríes~sedríes	sería~sedría	seríamos~seríemos~sedríamos~sedríemos	seríais~seríeis~sedríais~sedríeis	seríen~sedríen
		-	tu	vusté	nosotros/-es~nós	vosotros/-es~vós	vustedes
Imperative			sé		vamos ser	sei

• Reference http://www.academiadelallingua.com/diccionariu/gramatica_llingua.pdf
• http://di098.edv.uniovi.es/apertium/comun/conxugador.php?verbo=ser - has some extra forms

Noun

ser m (plural seres)

1. being

Derived terms

• ser humanu

Baure

Noun

ser

1. tooth

   niser — my tooth

   eser — a tooth, someone's tooth

   nitorak to eser — I found a/someone's tooth

References

• Languages of the Amazon (2012, →ISBN

Catalan

Alternative forms

• ésser

Etymology

From a reduction of ésser, from Latin sum, from Proto-Italic *ezom, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ésti (“I am, I exist”).

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

(verb)

• (Balearic, Central) IPA^(key): /ˈse/
• (Valencian) IPA^(key): /ˈseɾ/

(noun)

• (Balearic, Central) IPA^(key): /ˈser/
• (Valencian) IPA^(key): /ˈseɾ/

Verb

ser (first-person singular present sóc, past participle estat)

1. (intransitive) to be, to exist

   Ser o no ser, aquesta és la qüestió.

   To be or not to be, that is the question.

2. (intransitive, +adverbial phrase) to be located (to be in a place)
3. (transitive, copulative) to be (used to connect a noun to another noun)
4. (transitive, copulative) to have a characteristic (used to connect a noun to an adjective that describes an inherent property)
5. (auxiliary) Used to form the passive voice, together with a past participle

Usage notes

This is one of two verbs that can be translated as to be, the other being estar. Ser/ésser indicates an inherent quality, whereas estar indicates temporary qualities that apply only at a particular time. Ser/ésser relates to estar as essence relates to state, etymologically as well as semantically.

Conjugation

    Conjugation of ser

infinitive			ser
present participle			sent, essent
past participle				masculine		feminine
		singular		estat, sigut		estada, siguda
		plural		estats, siguts		estades, sigudes
person		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		jo	tu	ell/ella vostè	nosaltres nós	vosaltres vós	ells/elles vostès
	present	sóc/soc	ets	és	som	sou	són
	imperfect	era	eres	era	érem	éreu	eren
	future	seré	seràs	serà	serem	sereu	seran
	preterite	fui	fores	fou	fórem	fóreu	foren
	conditional	seria, fóra/fora	series, fores	seria, fóra/fora	seríem, fórem	seríeu, fóreu	serien, foren
subjunctive		jo	tu	ell/ella vostè	nosaltres nós	vosaltres vós	ells/elles vostès
	present	sigui, siga	siguis	sigui, siga	siguem	sigueu	siguin
	imperfect	fos	fossis	fos	fóssim	fóssiu	fossin
imperative		—	tu	vostè	nosaltres	vosaltres vós	vostès
		—	sigues	sigui, siga	siguem	sou	siguin

Derived terms

• o sigui
• semblar ser

Noun

ser m (plural sers)

1. being (living creature)

Further reading

• “ser” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “ser” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Chinese

Etymology 1

From clipping of English server.

Pronunciation

• Cantonese (Jyutping): soe¹

---

• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: soe¹
    • Yale: sēu
    • Cantonese Pinyin: soe¹
    • Guangdong Romanization: sê¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /sœː⁵⁵/

Noun

ser

1. (Hong Kong Cantonese, computing) server (Classifier: 個／个 c; 部 c)

See also

• server

Etymology 2

From clipping of English search.

Alternative forms

• sear

Pronunciation

• Cantonese (Jyutping): soe¹

---

• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: soe¹
    • Yale: sēu
    • Cantonese Pinyin: soe¹
    • Guangdong Romanization: sê¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /sœː⁵⁵/

Verb

ser

1. (Hong Kong Cantonese, computing) to search on the Internet; to google

See also

• search (soe1 cyu4)

Czech

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈsɛr]
• Rhymes: -ɛr

Verb

ser

1. second-person singular imperative of srát

Danish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /seːr/, [seɐ̯ˀ]

Verb

ser

1. present of se

Galician

Etymology

Mostly from Old Galician-Portuguese seer, from Latin sedeō, sedēre (“to sit, to reside”), and sum (“to be”). The forms beginning with f- are from Latin fui.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈseɾ/

Verb

ser (first-person singular present son, first-person singular preterite fun, past participle sido)

1. to be

   Eu non sei como esto sexa, ou debe de ser envexa do ben que a España facés.

   I don't know how this is, or must be jealous of the good you are doing to Spain.

2. first-person singular personal infinitive of ser
3. third-person singular personal infinitive of ser

Usage notes

Like Portuguese and Spanish, Galician has two different verbs that are usually translated to English as “to be”. The verb ser relates to essence, origin, or physical description. In contrast, the verb estar relates to current state or position.

Conjugation

Conjugation of ser (irregular)

	singular			plural
person	first	second	third	first	second	third
Infinitive	eu	ti	el/ela/Vde.	nós	vós	eles/elas/Vdes.
impersonal	ser
personal	ser	seres	ser	sermos	serdes	seren
Gerund
	sendo
Past participle	singular			plural
masculine	sido			sidos
feminine	sida			sidas
Indicative	eu	ti	el/ela/Vde.	nós	vós	eles/elas/Vdes.
present	son	es	é	somos	sodes	son
imperfect	era	eras	era	eramos	erades	eran
preterite	fun	fuches	foi	fomos	fostes	foron
pluperfect	fora	foras	fora	foramos	forades	foran
future	serei	serás	será	seremos	seredes	serán
conditional	sería	serías	sería	seriamos	seriades	serían
Subjunctive	eu	ti	el/ela/Vde.	nós	vós	eles/elas/Vdes.
present	sexa	sexas	sexa	sexamos	sexades	sexan
preterite	fose	foses	fose	fósemos	fósedes	fosen
future	for	fores	for	formos	fordes	foren
Imperative	–	ti	el/ela/Vde.	nós	vós	eles/elas/Vdes.
affirmative	–	sé	sexa	sexamos	sede	sexan
negative	–	sexas	sexa	sexamos	sexades	sexan

Derived terms

• ser quen (“to be able to; to dare”)

Noun

ser m (plural seres)

1. being (living creature)

See also

• estar

Further reading

• “ser” in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega, Royal Galician Academy.

Hungarian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈʃɛr]
• Hyphenation: ser
• Rhymes: -ɛr

Noun

ser (countable and uncountable, plural serek)

1. (archaic, dialectal, humorous) Alternative form of sör (“beer”).

Usage notes

An archaic and dialectal variant of sör, but today it can also be humorous in informal conversations. In compound words and derivations, almost only sör is used.

Declension

Inflection (stem in -e-, front unrounded harmony)
	singular	plural
nominative	ser	serek
accusative	sert	sereket
dative	sernek	sereknek
instrumental	serrel	serekkel
causal-final	serért	serekért
translative	serré	serekké
terminative	serig	serekig
essive-formal	serként	serekként
essive-modal	serül	—
inessive	serben	serekben
superessive	seren	sereken
adessive	sernél	sereknél
illative	serbe	serekbe
sublative	serre	serekre
allative	serhez	serekhez
elative	serből	serekből
delative	serről	serekről
ablative	sertől	serektől
non-attributive possessive - singular	seré	sereké
non-attributive possessive - plural	seréi	serekéi

Possessive forms of ser
possessor	single possession	multiple possessions
1st person sing.	serem	sereim
2nd person sing.	sered	sereid
3rd person sing.	sere	serei
1st person plural	serünk	sereink
2nd person plural	seretek	sereitek
3rd person plural	serük	sereik

Derived terms

Compound words

• serfőző

 

Further reading

• ser , redirecting to sör in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (‘The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language’, abbr.: ÉrtSz.). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN

Italian

Etymology

Clipping of messer.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsɛr/
• Rhymes: -ɛr
• Syllabification: sèr

Noun

ser m

1. (historical) sir (title and form of address for a gentleman, shortened from messer)

   Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci ― Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (literally, “Leonardo son of Peter, from Vinci”)

Ladino

Verb

ser (Latin spelling, Hebrew spelling סיר‎)

1. to be

Lolopo

Etymology

From Proto-Loloish *swa² (Bradley), from Proto-Sino-Tibetan. Cognate with Burmese သွား (swa:), Japhug tɯɕɣa, Tibetan སོ (so), Drung sa, Tedim Chin ha:², Jingpho wa.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [sə²¹]

Noun

ser 

1. (Yao'an) tooth

Mauritian Creole

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sɛː/

Etymology 1

From French sœur.

Noun

ser

1. sister

   Synonym: didi

Etymology 2

From French cher.

Adjective

ser

1. dear
2. expensive

Middle Dutch

Noun

ser

1. (title and pronoun) sir, lord
   • 1301-1350, Van den VII vroeden van binnen Rome. Een dichtwerk der XIVde eeuw (INL)

     Garijn, ser Diederecs sone

     (please add an English translation of this quote)

   • 1414, Hennen van Merchtenen's Cornicke van Brabant (INL)

     Als ijemen sterven plach, hinc men daer teken ser wapen

     (please add an English translation of this quote)

Further reading

• Verwijs, E.; Verdam, J. (1885–1929), “ser (I)”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek, The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, →ISBN, page I

Middle English

Etymology 1

Noun

ser

1. Alternative form of sire
   • 1407, The Testimony of William Thorpe, page 40

     And I seide, “Ser, in his tyme maister Ioon Wiclef was holden of ful many men the grettis clerk that thei knewen lyuynge vpon erthe.

Etymology 2

Noun

ser

1. Alternative form of sere (“dry”)

Etymology 3

Adjective

ser

1. Alternative form of sere (“differing”)

Mirandese

Etymology

From Latin sedeō, sedēre (“to sit, to reside”) and sum (“to be”).

Verb

ser

1. to be (indicates a permanent quality)

Noun

ser m (plural seres)

1. being

See also

• star

Northern Kurdish

Etymology 1

From Proto-Iranian *cŕ̥Hah, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *ćŕ̥Has (“head, top”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱŕ̥h₂-os, derived from the root *ḱerh₂- (“head, horn”).

Alternative forms

• sarî

Noun

ser m (Arabic spelling سەر‎)

1. (anatomy) head

   Synonym: kelle

2. point, tip
3. beginning, start
4. end, extremity

Declension

Declension of ser

Definite masculine gender
Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	ser	ser
Construct	serê	serên
Oblique	serî	seran
Demonstrative oblique	wî serî	wan seran
Vocative	sero	serino
Indefinite masculine gender
Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	serek	serin
Construct	serekî	serine
Oblique	serekî	serinan

Etymology 2

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Preposition

ser (Arabic spelling سەر‎)

1. on

   Antonym: bin

   li ser maseyê ― on the table

References

• Chyet, Michael L. (2020), “ser I”, in Ferhenga Birûskî: Kurmanji–English Dictionary (Language Series; 2), volume 2, London: Transnational Press, page 233
• Chyet, Michael L. (2020), “ser II”, in Ferhenga Birûskî: Kurmanji–English Dictionary (Language Series; 2), volume 2, London: Transnational Press, page 234

Norwegian Bokmål

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /seːr/
• Rhymes: -eːr

Verb

ser

1. present of se

Norwegian Nynorsk

Verb

ser

1. present of sjå

Pohnpeian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sɛr/

Verb

ser

1. (intransitive) to run aground

Interjection

ser

1. An exclamation used to attract the attention of two or more people.

Polish

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *syrъ, from Proto-Indo-European *súHros (“sour, salty, bitter”), whence English sour.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sɛr/

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛr
• Syllabification: ser

Noun

ser m inan (diminutive serek)

1. cheese

Declension

Declension of ser

	singular	plural
nominative	ser	sery
genitive	sera	serów
dative	serowi	serom
accusative	ser	sery
instrumental	serem	serami
locative	serze	serach
vocative	serze	sery

Derived terms

adjectives

• serny
• serowaty
• serowy

 

nouns

• ser biały
• ser krowi
• ser pleśniowy
• ser śmietankowy
• ser topiony
• ser wegański
• ser żółty
• sernik

 

Further reading

• ser in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• ser in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Portuguese

Etymology

Inherited from Old Galician-Portuguese seer, with forms from multiple sources:

• Latin sum (“to be, to exist”), from Proto-Italic *ezom, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ésti (“to be, to exist”).
• Latin sedeō (“to sit”), from Proto-Italic *sedēō, from Proto-Indo-European *sed-.

• Latin sedeō: personal and impersonal infinitives (sedēre), gerund, present subjunctive, affirmative imperative
• Latin sum: present indicative, imperfect indicative, preterite indicative, pluperfect indicative, imperfect subjunctive, future subjunctive
  • Vulgar Latin *sonō: sou
  • Vulgar Latin *sutis: sois
• later developments: past participle, future indicative, conditional, negative imperative

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈse(ʁ)/ [ˈse(h)]

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

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈseɾ/

• Homophones: sê (Brazil), cê (Brazil) (with -r dropping)
• Hyphenation: ser

Verb

ser (first-person singular present sou, first-person singular preterite fui, past participle sido)

2. (copulative) to be (to have the given quality), especially a quality that is intrinsic or not expected to change, contrasting with estar which denotes a temporary quality

   Ela está bonita, mas não é bonita.

   She is looking beautiful, but she is not beautiful.

4. (transitive) to be (to be an example or type of, or the same as)

   Pessoas são mamíferos.

   People are mammals.

   A soma de um e dois é três.

   The sum of one and two is three.

6. (auxiliary with a verb in the past participle) to be (forms the passive voice)

   O carro foi vendido pelo seu antigo dono.

   The car was sold by its previous owner.

   Espero que os criminosos sejam punidos.

   I hope the criminals are punished.

8. (impersonal) to be (indicates a point in time)

   Que horas são?

   What time is it?

   São cinco horas.

   It is five o’clock.

10. (transitive with em or another locational preposition) to be in (to be located in)

    Synonyms: ficar em, localizar-se em

    Minha casa é num bairro pobre.

    My house is in a poor neighbourhood.

    Onde são essas cidades?

    Where are these cities?

12. (transitive with de) to be from (to have as one’s place of origin)

    Synonym: vir de

    Esses equipamentos são da Alemanha.

    These pieces of equipment are from Germany.

    Nenhum de nós é de um país estrangeiro.

    None of us is from a foreign country.

14. (transitive with de) to be (someone’s); to belong to

    Synonym: pertencer a

    Essa casa é do prefeito.

    This house belongs to the mayor.

    Não mexa em nada que não for seu.

    Don’t touch anything that is not yours.

16. (transitive or auxiliary with para or de and a verb in the personal infinitive) to be for; to be to (to have as its purpose)

    Synonym: servir para

    Esse tipo de faca é para cortar tomates.

    This type of knife is for cutting tomatoes.

18. (impersonal, auxiliary with para and a verb in the personal infinitive) to be supposed to; should (introduces an expected or demanded action)

    Synonym: dever

    Não sei porque está demorando, já era para o filme ter começado.

    I don’t know why it is taking so long, the film should have started already.

    É para comermos toda a carne.

    We are supposed to eat all the meat.

20. (transitive) to be; to cost (to be worth a given amount of money)

    Synonyms: custar, valer

    Duas maçãs são dez centavos.

    Two apples are ten cents.

22. (intransitive) to happen; to take place; to occur

    Synonyms: acontecer, haver, ocorrer, ter, produzir-se, realizar-se, sobrevir, suceder

    O que será, será.

    Whatever happens happens.

    Quando é seu aniversário?

    When is your birthday?

24. (transitive with por or a favor de or contra) to be against or in favour of

    Alguns foram contra a guerra, mas a maioria foi a favor.

    Some were against the war, but most were in favour.

26. (poetic, intransitive) to exist; to be

    O mal não é.

    Evil does not exist.

28. (impersonal, transitive) used for emphasis

    Eu é que vim.

    I’m the one who came here.

Usage notes

Portuguese has two different verbs that are usually translated to English as “to be”: generally ser relates to essence, contrasting with estar, which relates to state.

Contrast the following:

• O homem está feliz. ― The man is [currently] happy.
• O homem é feliz. ― The man is [always] happy.
• Você está louco? ― Are you crazy [acting or currently insane]?
• Você é louco? ― Are you crazy [permanently insane]?
• Ela está em casa. ― She is [currently] at home.
• Ela é do Brasil. ― She is [originally] from Brazil.

Conjugation

    Conjugation of ser (irregular) (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	ser
Personal	ser	seres	ser	sermos	serdes	serem
Gerund
	sendo
Past participle
Masculine	sido			—
Feminine	—			—
Indicative
Present	sou	és	é	somos	sois	são
Imperfect	era	eras	era	éramos	éreis	eram
Preterite	fui	foste	foi	fomos	fostes	foram
Pluperfect	fora	foras	fora	fôramos	fôreis	foram
Future	serei	serás	será	seremos	sereis	serão
Conditional
	seria	serias	seria	seríamos	seríeis	seriam
Subjunctive
Present	seja	sejas	seja	sejamos	sejais	sejam
Imperfect	fosse	fosses	fosse	fôssemos	fôsseis	fossem
Future	for	fores	for	formos	fordes	forem
Imperative
Affirmative		sê	seja	sejamos	sede	sejam
Negative (não)		não sejas	não seja	não sejamos	não sejais	não sejam

Quotations

For quotations using this term, see Citations:ser.

Synonyms

• (forms the passive voice): any reflexive pronoun

See also

• estar
• ter
• haver

Noun

ser m (plural seres)

1. being (a living creature)

   Synonyms: criatura, ente

Quotations

For quotations using this term, see Citations:ser.

Derived terms

• ser humano
• ser vivo

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin serum, French sérum. Cf. also zer.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ser/

Noun

ser n (plural seruri)

1. serum

Declension

Declension of ser

	singular		plural
	indefinite articulation	definite articulation	indefinite articulation	definite articulation
nominative/accusative	(un) ser	serul	(niște) seruri	serurile
genitive/dative	(unui) ser	serului	(unor) seruri	serurilor
vocative	serule		serurilor

Romansch

Verb

ser

1. (Sursilvan) Alternative form of seser

Slovene

Etymology 1

From Proto-Slavic *śěrъ.

Adjective

sẹ̑r (comparative bȍlj sẹ̑r, superlative nȁjbolj sẹ̑r)

1. (color, archaic) grey, gray

   Synonym: siv

Etymology 2

Noun

sȇr m anim

1. vulture of the genus Gypaetus

   brkati ser ― bearded vulture (Gypaetus barbatus)

Further reading

• “ser”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU, portal Fran

Spanish

Etymology

From Old Spanish seer, from two sources by suppletion:

• Latin sedeō, sedēre (“to sit, to reside”), from Proto-Italic *sedēō, from Proto-Indo-European *sed-. The infinitive, gerund, imperative, past participle, and present subjunctive come from this verb.
• Latin sum, from Proto-Italic *ezom, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ésti. The forms that derived from here are the present tenses, the imperfect, the imperfect and future subjunctives, and the preterite tenses (although the preterite tense, future subjunctive, and imperfect subjunctive come from a different root, Proto-Indo-European *bʰuH-).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈseɾ/ [ˈseɾ]
• Rhymes: -eɾ
• Syllabification: ser

Verb

ser (first-person singular present soy, first-person singular preterite fui, past participle sido)

1. to be (essentially or identified as)
   • 2007, El Sueño de Morfeo, Nada es Suficiente

     ¿Qué voy a ser si te he dado lo que soy?

     What am I going to be if I've given you what I am?

   • 2007, El Sueño de Morfeo, Para Toda la Vida

     Si fueras una gota de agua, nadie volvería a tener sed

     If you were a drop of water, no one would thirst again

   Yo soy de los Estados Unidos. ― I am from the United States.

   Errar es humano. ― To err is human.

2. to be (in the passive voice sense)

   La guitarra fue tocada. ― The guitar was played.

3. to exist; to occur

   La fiesta será mañana. ― The party will be tomorrow.

Usage notes

Spanish has two different verbs that are usually translated to English as “to be”: ser relates to essence, contrasting with estar, which relates to state. Contrast the following:

• El hombre está feliz. ― The man is [currently] happy.
• El hombre es feliz. ― The man is [always] happy.
• ¿Estás loco? ― Are you crazy [currently out of your mind]?
• ¿Eres loco? ― Are you crazy [an insane person]?
• El hombre está en España. ― The man is [currently] in Spain.
• El hombre es de España. ― The man is [originally] from Spain.
• ¿Cómo estás? ― How are you?
• ¿Cómo eres? ― What are you like?

However, when stating the location of an object (but not an event), estar is used whether the location is permanent or not:

• Madrid está en el centro de España. ― Madrid is in central Spain.

Conjugation

    Conjugation of ser (irregular) (See Appendix:Spanish verbs)

infinitive			ser
gerund			siendo
past participle				masculine		feminine
		singular		sido		sida
		plural		sidos		sidas
		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	soy	erestú sosvos	es	somos	sois	son
	imperfect	era	eras	era	éramos	erais	eran
	preterite	fui	fuiste	fue	fuimos	fuisteis	fueron
	future	seré	serás	será	seremos	seréis	serán
	conditional	sería	serías	sería	seríamos	seríais	serían
subjunctive		yo	tú vos	él/ella/ello usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ellos/ellas ustedes
	present	sea	seastú seásvos2	sea	seamos	seáis	sean
	imperfect (ra)	fuera	fueras	fuera	fuéramos	fuerais	fueran
	imperfect (se)	fuese	fueses	fuese	fuésemos	fueseis	fuesen
	future1	fuere	fueres	fuere	fuéremos	fuereis	fueren
imperative		—	tú vos	usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ustedes
	affirmative		sé	sea	seamos	sed	sean
	negative		no seas	no sea	no seamos	no seáis	no sean

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

    Selected combined forms of ser (irregular)

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 ser
	dative	serme	serte	serle, serse	sernos	seros	serles, serse
	accusative	serme	serte	serlo, serla, serse	sernos	seros	serlos, serlas, serse
with gerund siendo
	dative	siéndome	siéndote	siéndole, siéndose	siéndonos	siéndoos	siéndoles, siéndose
	accusative	siéndome	siéndote	siéndolo, siéndola, siéndose	siéndonos	siéndoos	siéndolos, siéndolas, siéndose
with informal second-person singular tú/vos imperative sé
	dative	seme	sete	sele	senos	not used	seles
	accusative	seme	sete	selo, sela	senos	not used	selos, selas
with formal second-person singular imperative sea
	dative	séame	not used	séale, séase	séanos	not used	séales
	accusative	séame	not used	séalo, séala, séase	séanos	not used	séalos, séalas
with first-person plural imperative seamos
	dative	not used	seámoste	seámosle	seámonos	seámoos	seámosles
	accusative	not used	seámoste	seámoslo, seámosla	seámonos	seámoos	seámoslos, seámoslas
with informal second-person plural imperative sed
	dative	sedme	not used	sedle	sednos	seos	sedles
	accusative	sedme	not used	sedlo, sedla	sednos	seos	sedlos, sedlas
with formal second-person plural imperative sean
	dative	séanme	not used	séanle	séannos	not used	séanles, séanse
	accusative	séanme	not used	séanlo, séanla	séannos	not used	séanlos, séanlas, séanse

Derived terms

• a no ser que
• a poder ser
• allá donde fueres, haz lo que vieres
• como sea
• érase que se era
• érase una vez
• es que
• llegar a ser
• lo que sea
• no puede ser
• no vaya a ser que
• o sea
• razón de ser
• sea como fuere
• sea cual fuere
• sea lo que fuera
• sea lo que sea

 

See also

• estar

Noun

ser m (plural seres)

1. a being, organism
2. nature, essence
3. value, worth

Related terms

• ser humano
• ser querido
• ser supremo

 

Further reading

• “ser”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014

Swedish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /seːr/

Verb

ser

1. present tense of se.

Anagrams

• ers, res

Tagalog

Etymology

Pseudo-Hispanism, derived from English sir, and influenced by the pronunciation of Spanish ser.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈseɾ/, [ˈseɾ]

Noun

1. sir (A respectful term of address to a man of higher rank or position [often older], especially if his name or proper title is unknown)

   Synonyms: ginoo, maginoo

Turkish

Etymology 1

From Persian سر‎ (sar).

Noun

ser (definite accusative seri, plural serler)

1. (archaic) head

Synonyms

• (head): baş, kafa

Etymology 2

Verb

ser

1. second-person singular imperative of sermek

Volapük

Numeral

ser

1. zero

Welsh

Etymology

From Old Welsh serr, Proto-Celtic *serrā. Cf. Middle Irish serr.

Noun

ser m (plural serrod or serroedd, not mutable)

1. billhook, sickle, scythe
2. (dictionary) sword

Synonyms

• (scythe): pladur

References

• R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “ser”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies
• Matasović, Ranko (2009) Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 9), Leiden: Brill, →ISBN