Learn how to use perder and pedir in Spanish, and get better at speaking Spanish.

Have you ever gotten confused with pedir vs perder in Spanish? The verb pedir is mostly used for making requests and translates as “to ask for” or “to request.” On the other hand, the verb perder is used to express loss (of someone or something, not always a tangible loss) and means “to lose.” So an easy (and funny) way to remember the difference between pedir and perder is “It’s less to ask (pedir) than to lose (perder).” Besides the fact that pedir is shorter than perder, it’s also a good pun. Let’s delve into the meanings of pedir vs perder, and I’ll give you some useful examples.

How to translate the verb pedir in Spanish

The Spanish verb pedir translates as “to ask for” and it’s important to keep in my mind that the “for” is already included in the translation (and consequently meaning of pedir.) Why should you be aware of this? Because there is another verb, preguntar, which means “to ask.” Therefore, I recommend my students to think of pedir as “to request” because it’s easier to avoid the confusion between pedir (to ask for) and preguntar (to ask.) Here are some examples with pedir:

• ¿Qué pides para tu cumpleaños? – What are you asking for for your birthday?
• Llamó para pedir más dinero. – He called to ask for more money.
• No pidas eso. – Don’t ask for that.
• Pide la cuenta, por favor. – Please ask for the check.
• Pidieron un coche y salieron de prisa. – They asked for a car and left in a hurry.

Pedir has more than one meaning

Among other things, the verb pedir also means:

• To beg: Había muchos indigentes pidiendo dinero en el metro. (There were lots of homeless people begging for money in the metro.)
• To order: Voy a pedir tacos de pescado. (I’m going to order fish tacos.)
• To demand: Me pidió una explicación de inmediato. (He demanded an immediate explanation.)
• To need: Esta posición pide un mínimo de cinco años de experiencia. (This position needs a minimum of five years of work experience.)
• To pray: Mi abuela siempre pedía por cada uno de sus nietos. (My grandmother used to pray for each and every one of her grandchildren.)

As you can see, pedir has different meanings, and most of them circle back to “to ask for” or “to request.” Check out more meanings for pedir on SpanishDict. Below are some interesting phrases and idioms with the verb pedir.

Common sayings and expressions using pedir in Spanish

It’ll be easier to differentiate between pedir vs perder once you familiarize yourself with these Spanish phrases:

• pedir la luna: to ask for the moon, to ask for something impossible
• to make a wish: pedir un deseo
• pedir perdón: to ask for forgiveness, to apologize

Also:

• pedir la mano de: to ask for someone’s hand in marriage
• to ask for permission: pedir permiso
• pedir justicia: to seek justice, to demand justice

Another easily confused pair of Spanish verbs is ver and mirar, which you can learn more about here.

How to translate the verb perder in Spanish

What about the verb perder in Spanish? The most common meaning of perder is “to lose.” Whether you lose something or someone, you can use perder in both cases. Keep in mind that the object lost is the direct object of the verb (in this case, the verb perder):

• My amigo perdió las llaves de su coche. – My friend lost his car keys.
• Si perdemos otro partido, no nos clasificaremos para la final. – If we lose another match, we will not qualify for the finals.
• ¡No pierda los calcetines! – Don’t lose your socks!
• El candidato joven perdió la elección primaria. – The young candidate lost the primary election.
• ¿Cuántas veces has perdido tu celular? – How many times have you lost your cellphone?
• Perdí el perro de mi amiga que ella me dio para que lo cuide. – I lost my friend’s dog that she gave to me to take care of.
• No me gustar perder. – I don’t like to lose.

By the way, do you know what’s the difference between me gusta and gusto in Spanish?

Other meanings of perder in Spanish

As a general rule, the verb perder means “to lose.” But, as in the case of pedir, it has multiple meanings. Let’s see some of them:

• To get lost: This is used with the reflexive form, perderse. In this case, it indicates that something or someone is lost. Here are a few examples: Mi perro se perdió en el bosque (My dog got lost in the woods), Me perdí cuando salí del hotel para ir al teatro (I got lost when I left the hotel to go to the theater) or ¿Nos puede ayudar, por favor? Nos hemos perdido (Can you help us, please? We’re lost.)
• To miss: Perdí el bus de las 1.30 (I missed the 1:30 bus) or Perdimos el avión de vuelta y nos quedamos casi sin dinero (We missed the return plane flight and were left with hardly any money.)
• Or To miss out: Como no tienes suficiente información, te estás perdiendo muchas de las ventajas que tiene ser miembro de nuestro club (Because you don’t have enough information, you’re missing out on many of the advantages of bing a member of our club.)

Similarly:

• To ruin (more in a figurative sense): Cuando la vida de la familia se desintegra, la nación está perdida (When family life disintegrates, the nation is ruined.)
• To disappear: El coche negro se perdió entre el tráfico de la hora punta, y los policías que lo perseguían no pudieron hacer nada para evitarlo (The black car disappeared into the rush hour traffic, and the cops who were chasing it could do nothing about it.)
• And To waste: Le hiciste perder demasiado tiempo (You made him waste so much time) or Pierdo tiempo pensando en ti (I am wasting time thinking about you.)

Key takeaways of pedir vs perder in Spanish

In conclusion, pedir means “to request” and perder means “to lose.” Both of them have different meanings, but they all have a connection with either requesting/asking for something (pedir) or losing something/someone (perder.) Moreover, the reflexive form perderse is used to show that something or someone is lost without necessarily saying who’s responsible for the loss. Also, you can use perder in the sense of losing a competion, an election, or a game. Additionally, keep in mind that pedir means “to ask for”, while preguntar means “to ask.” However, to make it easier, think about the Spanish feminine noun la pregunta (the question.)

To sum up, it’s less to ask (pedir) than to lose (perder). If you feel like practicing pedir vs perder, I invite you to write down in the comment section at least two examples with these verbs. At last, here’s the video lesson:

By the way, I offer free 1:1 Spanish consultations for those interested in learning Spanish. Don’t forget to check out Speak Better Spanish on Facebook where I host free Spanish workshops and share useful learning tools.