Spanish vocabulary · Beginner
Bet in Spanish: How to Say Apostar and Apuesta
Apostar · verb · ah-pohs-TAHR
Bet in Spanish is the verb apostar for the action of wagering and the noun apuesta for the bet itself. Apostar is a stem-changing verb (o→ue) in the present tense: yo apuesto, tú apuestas. It's used for literal gambling, friendly wagers, and figurative confidence in an outcome.
Apostar is ah-pohs-TAHR, with stress on the final syllable. In stem-changing forms, apuesto becomes ah-PWEHS-toh. The noun apuesta is ah-PWEHS-tah.
Te apuesto diez dólares a que gana México.
I bet you ten dollars Mexico wins.
Bet in Spanish: Quick Reference
Below are the most common Spanish words for bet, with pronunciation and regional usage notes.
| Spanish | English | Pronunciation | Region / Register |
|---|---|---|---|
| apostar | bet | ah-pohs-TAHR | Default, widely understood |
| apuesta | bet | noun form: a bet or wager | |
| jugarse | bet | to risk/stake something, colloquial |
How Native Speakers Use Apostar
Real example sentences across three contexts you'll actually run into.
A friendly wager
¿Apostamos? El que pierda paga la cena.
Shall we bet? The loser pays for dinner.
Apostamos as a question is a natural way to propose a friendly bet.
Figurative confidence
Apuesto a que mañana llueve.
I bet it rains tomorrow.
Apostar a que expresses a prediction or strong hunch, not necessarily a real wager.
Talking about a bet (noun)
Perdí la apuesta y tuve que lavar los platos una semana.
I lost the bet and had to wash the dishes for a week.
Apuesta is the noun form, always feminine: la apuesta, una apuesta.
Avoid These Mistakes When Using Apostar
Forgetting the stem change
Incorrect: Yo aposto diez euros.
Correct: Yo apuesto diez euros.
Apostar is an o→ue stem-changing verb. In the present tense, the o changes to ue in all forms except nosotros and vosotros: apuesto, apuestas, apuesta, apuestan.
Using apostar without the preposition a
Incorrect: Apuesto que gana el Real Madrid.
Correct: Apuesto a que gana el Real Madrid.
The construction is apostar a que (to bet that). Dropping the a sounds incomplete to native speakers.
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See Apostar used by native speakers
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Common Questions About Bet in Spanish
- How do you say bet in Spanish?
- The verb is apostar (to bet) and the noun is apuesta (a bet). Te apuesto a que sí means I bet you it does. Apostar is a stem-changing verb, so you say yo apuesto, not yo aposto.
- How do you conjugate apostar in the present tense?
- Apostar follows the o→ue pattern: yo apuesto, tú apuestas, él/ella apuesta, nosotros apostamos (no change), vosotros apostáis, ellos apuestan. The stem change affects all forms except nosotros and vosotros.
- How do you say I bet (as in I'm sure) in Spanish?
- Use apuesto a que followed by the outcome: Apuesto a que no viene means I bet he doesn't come. It expresses certainty or a strong hunch, not an actual monetary wager.