What is the future of decir in Spanish?

Diré, dirás, dirá, diremos, diréis, dirán. Drastically shortened irregular stem dir- (not *dec-ir) + regular future endings. Te diré la verdad = I'll tell you the truth.

Why does decir have such a short future stem?

Decir and hacer share a drastic shortening pattern: dec-ir → dir-, hac-er → har-. This is a historical Romance language feature; only these two Spanish verbs use such drastic shortening in the future / conditional.

Do compounds of decir follow the same pattern?

Most do. Predecir → prediré, contradecir → contradiré, desdecir → desdiré all follow the dir- pattern. Exceptions: bendecir → bendeciré, maldecir → maldeciré (regular futures).

Does decir always need an indirect object?

Almost always. Spanish decir typically has an indirect object pronoun (te, me, le, nos, os, les) specifying the listener. Te diré (I'll tell you), nos dirán (they'll tell us). Decir alone, without an IOP, is rare and usually incomplete.

How can I master the future of decir?

Memorize the dir- stem and pair it with the indirect object pronouns. Practice in promise contexts (te diré, te diremos) and conjecture contexts (¿qué dirán?). Parrot's videos surface these uses in natural speech.

Spanish grammar · Intermediate

Future of Decir: Diré, Dirás, Dirá, Conjugation and Use

Written by Sofia Ramirez, Lead Spanish Curriculum Editor · Reviewed May 2026

The future of decir uses the SHORTENED irregular stem dir-: diré, dirás, dirá, diremos, diréis, dirán. Only decir and hacer share this drastic shortening pattern in the future.

Te diré la verdad mañana.

I'll tell you the truth tomorrow.

What it is

The future of decir uses the drastically shortened stem dir- (not the regular *decir-). Forms: diré, dirás, dirá, diremos, diréis, dirán. Only decir and hacer share this pattern.

In Te diré la verdad mañana (I'll tell you the truth tomorrow), diré is the future yo form of decir.

How to spot it

Look for dir- + endings: diré, dirás, dirá, diremos, dirán. The very short stem is distinctive; it's NOT *deciré.

Dirá lo que piensa. — He'll say what he thinks.
Nos dirán la verdad. — They'll tell us the truth.
¿Qué dirás? — What will you say?

Compounds of decir (predecir, contradecir, desdecir) follow the same pattern: prediré, contradiré, desdiré.

Future of Decir Quick Reference

Future of decir, irregular stem dir-

Person	Form	Translation
yo	diré	I will say/tell
tú	dirás	you will say/tell
él/ella/Ud.	dirá	he/she/it will say/tell
nosotros	diremos	we will say/tell
vosotros	diréis	you all will say/tell (Spain)
ellos/ellas/Uds.	dirán	they will say/tell

Common Future of Decir Examples in Spanish

Future of decir in real contexts:

Future Statements / Promises

Te diré la verdad.: I'll tell you the truth.
Le diremos la noticia mañana.: We'll tell him the news tomorrow.
Dirán lo que opinan.: They'll say what they think.
Te diré qué hacer.: I'll tell you what to do.
Diré lo que pienso.: I'll say what I think.

Most common use: predicting or promising future statements.

With Indirect Objects (Me, Te, Le)

Te diré un secreto.: I'll tell you a secret.
Me dirán cuándo.: They'll tell me when.
Le diré a tu madre.: I'll tell your mother.
Os diremos los detalles.: We'll tell you all the details.
Nos dirá la verdad.: He'll tell us the truth.

Decir almost always takes an indirect object (te, me, le, nos, os, les) for the listener.

Conjecture / Reactions

¿Qué dirán los vecinos?: What will the neighbors say?
Diré que sí.: I'll say yes.
Diremos algo amable.: We'll say something kind.
¿Qué te dirá tu padre?: What will your father say to you?
Dirán que estamos locos.: They'll say we're crazy.

Common in social anxiety contexts (¿qué dirán los vecinos? = what will the neighbors say?).

Negative Forms

No te diré nada.: I won't tell you anything.
No diremos mentiras.: We won't tell lies.
No les dirá nada.: He won't tell them anything.
Nunca te diré ese secreto.: I'll never tell you that secret.
No diréis ni una palabra.: You won't say a word.

Common in promises of secrecy or refusal to speak.

How to Use the Future of Decir

Irregular Stem: Shortened to Dir-

Decir drops dec- → dir-, then add regular future endings (-é, -ás, -á, -emos, -éis, -án).

dec-ir → dir- + é = diré.

Drastic stem shortening.

Dir- + endings. NOT *deciré.

Compounds Follow the Same Pattern

Compounds of decir (predecir, contradecir, desdecir, bendecir, maldecir) follow the same shortening: prediré, contradiré, desdiré, bendeciré (note: bendecir / maldecir are exceptions and have regular futures bendeciré / maldeciré).

predecir → prediré (regular pattern with decir's shortening).

Most compounds keep the dir- pattern.

Compounds use dir- except bendecir / maldecir.

Almost Always Takes Indirect Object

Decir requires an indirect object (te, me, le, nos, os, les) for the listener. Te diré (I'll tell you), me dirá (he'll tell me), etc. Decir alone (without the IOP) is grammatically incomplete in most contexts.

Le diré a tu madre.

I'll tell your mother.

Decir + IOP + (que / lo / la verdad).

Same Stem as Conditional

The future stem (dir-) is the same as the conditional stem. Future: diré. Conditional: diría. Same stem, different endings.

Future: diré. Conditional: diría.

I'll say vs. I would say.

Dir- stem covers both tenses.

Common Mistakes with Future of Decir

Incorrect: Deciré la verdad. — I'll tell the truth.

Correct: Diré la verdad. — I'll tell the truth.

Decir has an IRREGULAR future stem: dir- (drastically shortened from dec-ir). Form is diré, not the regular *deciré.

Incorrect: Dire un secreto. — I'll tell you a secret.

Correct: Te diré un secreto. — I'll tell you a secret.

Missing accent (dire → diré) and missing indirect object pronoun. Decir requires both an accent on diré and an IOP (te / me / le / nos / os / les) to specify the listener.

Incorrect: Diran lo que piensan. — They'll say what they think.

Correct: Dirán lo que piensan. — They'll say what they think.

Future ellos form carries an accent: dirán. Without the accent, the stress shifts and the word changes (diran is not a Spanish word).

Decir and Hacer Drastic Shortening

Only Two Verbs Use This Pattern

Decir (dir-) and hacer (har-) are the only Spanish verbs with drastically shortened future / conditional stems. Compounds inherit the pattern.

decir → dir-: diré, dirás, dirá, diremos, diréis, dirán.: I'll say...
hacer → har-: haré, harás, hará, haremos, haréis, harán.: I'll do...
predecir → prediré (compound of decir).: I'll predict...

Bendecir and maldecir are exceptions that have regular futures: bendeciré, maldeciré. Other compounds follow the shortened pattern.

Decir Always Needs an Indirect Object

In Spanish, decir almost always has an indirect object pronoun specifying who is being told. Le diré (I'll tell him/her), te dirá (he'll tell you), nos dirán (they'll tell us).

Le diré a María. (le = a María): I'll tell María.
Te diremos cuando sepamos.: We'll tell you when we know.
Nos dirán la verdad.: They'll tell us the truth.

Even with a noun listener (a María), the redundant IOP (le) is still used. This is a fixed feature of decir.

Future of Decir FAQs

What is the future of decir in Spanish?: Diré, dirás, dirá, diremos, diréis, dirán. Drastically shortened irregular stem dir- (not *dec-ir) + regular future endings. Te diré la verdad = I'll tell you the truth.
Why does decir have such a short future stem?: Decir and hacer share a drastic shortening pattern: dec-ir → dir-, hac-er → har-. This is a historical Romance language feature; only these two Spanish verbs use such drastic shortening in the future / conditional.
Do compounds of decir follow the same pattern?: Most do. Predecir → prediré, contradecir → contradiré, desdecir → desdiré all follow the dir- pattern. Exceptions: bendecir → bendeciré, maldecir → maldeciré (regular futures).
Does decir always need an indirect object?: Almost always. Spanish decir typically has an indirect object pronoun (te, me, le, nos, os, les) specifying the listener. Te diré (I'll tell you), nos dirán (they'll tell us). Decir alone, without an IOP, is rare and usually incomplete.
How can I master the future of decir?: Memorize the dir- stem and pair it with the indirect object pronouns. Practice in promise contexts (te diré, te diremos) and conjecture contexts (¿qué dirán?). Parrot's videos surface these uses in natural speech.