Pedir vs Perder: What Is the Difference?

Pedir means to ask for, request or order: pedí un café, I ordered a coffee. Perder means to lose or to miss: perdí las llaves, I lost my keys. If you searched for perdir, that word does not exist in Spanish. You almost certainly mean one of these two verbs.

This lesson comes from Speak Better Spanish, live one-to-one Spanish coaching for adults with Hannah, Arturo and Jacky. Rated 5.0 on Google. Get a free speaking plan →

Updated November 1, 2026

Key Takeaways

• Pedir is to ask for, order or request something. Perder is to lose, to miss or to waste.
• Perdir is not a Spanish verb. It is a common misspelling that blends pedir and perder.
• Pedir changes e to i (pido, pidió). Perder changes e to ie (pierdo, pierde).
• To ask a question, use preguntar, not pedir. To miss a person, use extrañar, not perder.
• In Mexico, se me perdió (it got lost on me) is the everyday way to say you lost something.

Is perdir a Spanish word?

No. There is no verb perdir in Spanish, and you will not find it in any Spanish dictionary. It is one of the most common spellings people type when they are not sure which verb they heard. Searches spelled perdir brought our site almost 1,200 Google impressions in the last three months, so you are far from the only one.

The mix-up makes sense. The two verbs look almost the same and sound close at normal speed. Perdir takes the r from perder and the -ir ending from pedir. Here is how to tell which one you need:

• If someone is asking for, ordering or requesting something, it is pedir.
• If something or someone is lost, missed, wasted or beaten, it is perder.
• If you are asking a question, it is neither. Use preguntar.

What is the difference between pedir and perder?

Pedir is about getting something from someone. Perder is about no longer having something. The table puts the two side by side, including the forms that trip people up most.

What does pedir mean in Spanish?

Pedir means to ask for. The “for” is already built into the verb, so you never add por or para to mean it: pido agua is I ask for water. It is also the verb you use to order food or drinks, which makes it one of the most useful verbs you will learn.

• ¿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.
• Voy a pedir tacos de pescado. I’m going to order fish tacos.
• Me pidió una explicación. He asked me for an explanation.
• Esta posición pide cinco años de experiencia. This position calls for five years of experience.
• Mi abuela siempre pedía por sus nietos. My grandmother always prayed for her grandchildren.

When you ask someone to do something, pedir is followed by que and the subjunctive: te pido que me llames, I’m asking you to call me, and me pidió que llegara temprano, she asked me to arrive early. SpanishDict lists more meanings, but almost all of them come back to asking for something.

Pedir vs preguntar: which one means to ask?

Both translate as “to ask,” and that is why English speakers mix them up. Pedir asks for a thing or a favor. Preguntar asks a question. Le pedí un favor is I asked him for a favor; le pregunté cómo estaba is I asked him how he was. Only preguntar can introduce a question with dónde, cómo or si. A quick way to remember it: preguntar comes with una pregunta, a question. Our guide on how to ask questions in Spanish covers preguntar in depth.

How do Mexicans use pedir when ordering food?

In a restaurant, pedir mostly shows up in the questions people ask you. To order, Mexicans rarely say pido. They use softer requests with dar or traer.

For the full set of phrases, read our guide to ordering food in Spanish, and for paying, see how to say how much does it cost in Spanish.

What are common expressions with pedir?

One trap here: perdón looks like perder, but it comes from perdonar, to forgive. Pedir perdón is asking for forgiveness, not asking to lose.

What does perder mean in Spanish?

Perder means to lose, and it covers far more than objects. You use it for games, elections, time, patience and weight. It also means to miss a bus, a flight or an event.

• Mi amigo perdió las llaves de su coche. My friend lost his car keys.
• Si perdemos otro partido, no vamos a la final. If we lose another match, we won’t make the final.
• Perdí el camión de la 1:30. I missed the 1:30 bus.
• Casi pierdo el metro. I almost missed the subway.
• No pierdas el tiempo. Don’t waste your time.
• Perdió cinco kilos. She lost five kilos.
• No te lo pierdas. Don’t miss it.

That fourth example comes up in searches a lot. With casi or por poco, Spanish often uses the present tense to talk about a close call in the past, so casi pierdo el metro means I almost missed it. If you are the one running late, our post on how to say I am on my way in Spanish will help. And if you get lost on the way, derecho vs derecha in Spanish will help with directions.

How do you say to lose in Spanish?

The verb is perder. Which form you use depends on what got lost and whose fault it was.

Perderse, to get lost, is a reflexive verb, and our guide to reflexive verbs in Spanish explains how the me, te and se work. For missing a person, see 3 ways to say I miss you in Spanish.

The se me form is worth learning early. Arturo hears the difference in almost every conversation:

In Mexico you will hear se me perdió far more than perdí. Se me perdió el celular means the phone got lost on me. It sounds less like a confession, and it is how most people here would actually say it.

Arturo De León Gómez, Speak Better Spanish coach

How do you conjugate pedir and perder?

Both verbs change their stem, but in different ways. Pedir changes e to i in the present and in some past forms. Perder changes e to ie in the present only, and its past tense is regular.

Full charts are on SpanishDict for pedir and perder. The past tense is where most mix-ups happen, because pedí and perdí differ by a single r.

What mistakes do English speakers make with pedir and perder?

• Saying perdí la cuenta (I lost count) when you mean pedí la cuenta (I asked for the check).
• Saying pierdo when you mean pido, often when ordering: pido unos tacos, not pierdo unos tacos.
• Using pedir for questions. Say le pregunté dónde vivía, not le pedí dónde vivía.
• Adding por after pedir. Say pedí agua, not pedí por agua.
• Using perder for people you miss. Say te extraño, not te pierdo.

Hannah sees the first one more than any other:

The mix-up coaches hear most happens at the end of a meal. A student means pedí la cuenta, I asked for the check, and it comes out as perdí la cuenta, I lost count. The waiter usually gets it, but that one r changes the whole sentence, so it is worth practicing out loud until your mouth picks the right one without thinking.

Hannah Pinkerton, Speak Better Spanish coach

How do you pronounce pedir and perder?

Pedir is peh-DEER, with a soft d and a quick tapped r at the end, like the tt in “butter.” Perder is pehr-DEHR, with two tapped r sounds. The first one sits right before the d, and that is the sound to listen for. If you hear an r before the d, the verb is perder.

Spanish has a lot of verb pairs like this. When you are ready for the next one, try llegar vs llevar, venir vs llegar or ver vs mirar.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

Pedir is asking for something, and perder is losing it. There is no perdir. Keep preguntar for questions and extrañar for people you miss, and listen for that extra r: pedí gets you the check, perdí loses the count.

If you know the difference on paper but still hear perdí la cuenta come out at the end of a meal, that is the slip coaching works on. In a free Spanish Roadmap Session, a coach listens to you speak, finds the mix-ups that keep coming back and gives you a plan to fix them in real conversation. If you are getting ready for a trip or a move, see how we work with travelers and expats.

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