Skip to content

intentar

to try; to attempt

verb een-ten-TAHR Common
Mind & Emotions Mental States

Usage Note

Intentar is followed directly by an infinitive with no preposition: intentó abrir la puerta ('he tried to open the door'). The phrase tratar de + infinitive is a near synonym. Intentar implies a deliberate effort to achieve something, while probar (to try) often implies testing or tasting something.

Examples

"Intentó hablar pero no pudo."

Natural Translation

He tried to speak but could not.

Literal Translation

Tried to-speak but not could

Free starter pack

Building your Spanish vocabulary?

Get the 100 most common Spanish words as a free PDF — one email, no spam.

Explore Spanish by topic