gustar

Borrowed from Latin gustāre, possibly a semi-learned term or early borrowing; cf. gust.

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [ɡusˈta]
• IPA^(key): (Valencian) [ɡusˈtaɾ]
• Rhymes: -a(ɾ)

gustar (first-person singular present gusto, first-person singular preterite gustí, past participle gustat)

1. to taste

   Synonym: tastar

• gust

• gostar

From Old Galician-Portuguese gostar (“to taste”) (13th century, Cantigas de Santa Maria). Probably borrowed from Latin gustō, gustāre. Compare Portuguese gostar.

• IPA^(key): [ɡusˈtar]

gustar (first-person singular present gusto, first-person singular preterite gustei, past participle gustado)

1. to be pleased, enjoy

   O viño tinto gústame mellor que o branco ― I like red wine more than white

   • 1791, anonymous author, O faraute mandón:

     Rapeteiro Cumilon
     traja congros é sentolas
     ¿Picadiñas con sebolas,
     moyto lle gosta ó lambon.

     Ravening filcher
     he swallows congers and king crabs
     minced with onions,
     the glutton likes them so much.

2. (intransitive) to taste
3. (transitive with de) to like, enjoy

   Eu gusto do pan quente ― I enjoy freshly baked bread

• gusto

• “gostar” in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval, SLI - ILGA 2006–2022.
• “gostar” in Xavier Varela Barreiro & Xavier Gómez Guinovart: Corpus Xelmírez - Corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval. SLI / Grupo TALG / ILG, 2006–2018.
• “gostar” in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega, SLI - ILGA 2006–2013.
• “gustar” in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega. Santiago: ILG.
• “gustar” in Álvarez, Rosario (coord.): Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués, Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega.

gustar (present tense gustas, past tense gustis, future tense gustos, imperative gustez, conditional gustus)

1. to taste

• gust

Either from gust +‎ -ar or from Latin augustālis, from augustus.

• IPA^(key): /ɡuˈstar/

gustar

1. (popular/folk usage) August (eighth month of the Gregorian calendar)

   Synonyms: (standard/most common) august; (popular/folk name, rare) agust; (popular/folk name) măsălar

Borrowed in this form from Latin gustāre. Replaced the inherited Old Spanish form gostar.[1] See gusto. The use of this verb to mean "like" is a uniquely Ibero-Romance development. Compare Portuguese gostar.

• IPA^(key): /ɡusˈtaɾ/ [ɡusˈt̪aɾ]

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɾ
• Syllabification: gus‧tar

gustar (first-person singular present gusto, first-person singular preterite gusté, past participle gustado)

1. (intransitive) (followed by a or preceded by an indirect object) to be pleasing to (usually translated into English as like with exchange of the subject and object)

   Me gusta esta manzana

   I like this apple.

   (literally, “This apple is pleasing to me.”)

2. (transitive, dated) to taste

   Synonyms: probar, catar, degustar, saborear

• Gustar is usually translated to English with the verb to like. This causes confusion for some English speakers studying Spanish, because the subject and object of gustar are seemingly reversed from those of to like. That is, the subject of gustar is the thing that pleases and the (indirect) object is the person who is pleased. A commonly used method is to think of gustar as literally meaning to be pleasing to.

Me gusta la canción. ― I like the song. (literally, “The song is pleasing to me.”)

No me gustaron las espinacas. ― I didn't like the spinach. (literally, “The spinach was not pleasing to me.”)

¿Te gusto? ― Do you like me? (literally, “Am I pleasing to you?”)

Le gusto a María ― Maria likes me. (literally, “I am pleasing to Maria.”)

However, compare with the archaic meaning of to like:

Su semblante no me gusta. ― His countenance likes me not.

Some more examples:

a X le(s) gusta(n) Y

• X like(s) Y.
•  : A los pájaros les gusta cantar. ― Birds like to sing.
•  : A la chica le gustan las flores. ― The girl likes flowers.
•  : A María le gusta el jugo de manzana. ― Mary likes apple juice.

a mí me gustaba(n) Y

• I used to like Y.

a ti te gustaría(n) Y

• You would like Y.

a nosotros nos gusta(n) Y

• We like Y.
•  : A nosotros nos gusta divertirnos en el jardín. — We like to have fun in the garden.

a vosotros os gusta(n) Y

• You like Y.

a usted le gusta(n) Y

• You like Y.

X must agree in number (and person) with "le(s)," and Y must agree in number with the verb form of "gustar".

• (to like something): antojar, apetecer, encantar, molar (colloquial, Spain)
• (to like somebody, not romantically): agradar, parecer bien, caer bien (colloquial)
• (to like somebody romantically): estar enamorado de, encularse de (vulgar, El Salvador)
• (to like doing something): adorar, encantar, fascinar

• → Mecayapan Nahuatl: quigustarohua

• agradar
• deleitar
• detestar (“to detest”)
• encantar
• odiar (“to hate”)

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