Marcar in Spanish: 13 meanings explained, with conjugations

Marcar in Spanish is often translated simply as “to mark” in English, but did you know that this multifaceted verb has over a dozen different meanings with even more possible English translations?

Since we’re here to help you progress well beyond beginner Spanish, we’ve created this post to introduce all the different meanings of marcar in Spanish. Starting with the basics, we’ll provide the marcar conjugation tables in the first section. Then we’ll get into the fun part, where we explain 13 different uses for marcar in Spanish. As a bonus, we’ll end with a section of nouns related to marcar, like “marcador” and “marcapasos.”

Are you ready to get started? Let’s dive in!

Marcar: Conjugation

Marcar is a regular -ar verb, with no stem or ending changes. You only need to keep an eye on the consonant change from c to qu that occurs in some tenses to preserve the /k/ sound in the pronunciation.

In this section we provide the marcar conjugation tables for simple and compound tenses.

Simple tenses

Subject	Present	Imperfect	Preterite	Future
Yo	marco	marcaba	marqué	marcaré
Tú	marcas	marcabas	marcaste	marcarás
Usted	marca	marcaba	marcó	marcará
Él, Ella	marca	marcaba	marcó	marcará
Nosotros, Nosotras	marcamos	marcábamos	marcamos	marcaremos
Vosotros, Vosotras	marcáis	marcabais	marcasteis	marcaréis
Ustedes	marcan	marcaban	marcaron	marcarán
Ellos, Ellas	marcan	marcaban	marcaron	marcarán

Subject	Conditional	Present Subjunctive	Imperfect Subjunctive	Imperative
Yo	marcaría	marque	marcara / marcase
Tú	marcarías	marques	marcaras / marcases	marca
Usted	marcaría	marque	marcara / marcase	marque
Él, Ella	marcaría	marque	marcara / marcase
Nosotros, Nosotras	marcarías	marquemos	marcáramos / marcásemos	marquemos
Vosotros, Vosotras	marcaríais	marquéis	marcarais / marcaseis	marcad
Ustedes	marcarían	marquen	marcaran / marcasen	marquen
Ellos, Ellas	marcarían	marquen	marcaran / marcasen

Compound tenses

The participle of marcar is marcado.

The gerund for the continuous tenses is marcando.

Subject	Present Perfect	Pluperfect	Future Perfect
Yo	he marcado	había marcado	habré marcado
Tú	has marcado	habías marcado	habrás marcado
Usted	ha marcado	había marcado	habrá marcado
Él, Ella	ha marcado	había marcado	habrá marcado
Nosotros, Nosotras	hemos marcado	habíamos marcado	habremos marcado
Vosotros, Vosotras	habéis marcado	habíais marcado	habréis marcado
Ustedes	han marcado	habían marcado	habrán marcado
Ellos, Ellas	han marcado	habían marcado	habrán marcado

Subject	Conditional Perfect	Present Perfect Subjunctive	Pluperfect Subjunctive
Yo	habría marcado	haya marcado	hubiera / hubiese marcado
Tú	habrías marcado	hayas marcado	hubieras / hubieses marcado
Usted	habría marcado	haya marcado	hubiera / hubiese marcado
Él, Ella	habría marcado	haya marcado	hubiera / hubiese marcado
Nosotros, Nosotras	habríamos marcado	hayamos marcado	hubiéramos / hubiésemos marcado
Vosotros, Vosotras	habríais marcado	hayáis marcado	hubierais / hubieseis marcado
Ustedes	habrían marcado	hayan marcado	hubieran marcado
Ellos, Ellas	habrían marcado	hayan marcado	hubieran marcado

Marcar: Meanings

Time to get to the exciting part: what does marcar mean in Spanish? Well, it all depends on the context. Below we’ll show you 13 uses of marcar so you can get to know this verb better and take advantage of its full potential in so many contexts.

To mark

“To mark” is the most common use of marcar in Spanish, so you’ve probably come across it at some point. This use of marcar applies in contexts where it means “to put or leave a mark to distinguish something or to make it stand out”, such as when we put our name on an object to identify it as ours.

• Marqué las páginas del libro que tenemos que leer para mañana. – I marked the pages of the book we have to read for tomorrow.

• Tienes que marcar tus cuadernos con tu nombre para que la profesora sepa que te pertenecen. – You have to mark your notebooks with your name so the teacher knows they belong to you.

To highlight, To accentuate

This use of marcar is for when a detail stands out, similarly to the first example in the previous section where we used the word to mark the pages. For this use, though, the definition translates better as “to accentuate” or “to highlight.”

• Ese vestido marca su figura. – That dress accentuates her figure.

• El lápiz delineador marca el contorno de los ojos. – The eyeliner highlights the contours of the eyes.

• Es importante marcar estas referencias. – It’s important to highlight these references.

To dial

This usage is also quite common, although in some Spanish-speaking regions it is often used more specifically as a synonym for llamar, meaning to call or to phone in English, rather than just the action of dialing up a telephone number. For this reason, it is common to use it together with object pronouns in the same way that the verb llamar would be used.

• Para hacer una llamada debes marcar los números primero. – To make a call you must dial the numbers first.

• Luis, ¿puedes marcarle a tu papá? Olvidó llevarse su almuerzo. – Luis, can you call your dad? He forgot to take his lunch.

• ¡Hola, Ana! ¿Cómo estás? Ayer te iba a marcar, pero se me olvidó. – Hi, Ana! How are you? I was going to call you yesterday, but I forgot.

To brand

Interestingly, the various meanings of the verb “to brand” in English can be translated as marcar in Spanish. The first is “to stamp with an iron brand”, as when branding cattle. Then, there’s “to stigmatize or assign a negative characteristic to someone”, “to create a lasting impression”, and, finally, it can also mean to put the name of a brand or firm on a product to indicate ownership or quality.

Let’s see some examples of each of these uses:

• Hoy vamos a marcar a las vacas que ganamos en la feria estatal. – Today we will brand the cows we won at the state fair.

• Mis compañeros de clase me marcaron de tonto por muchos años. Fue muy doloroso. – My classmates marked me as a dumb person for many years. It was very painful.

• Ese día quedó marcado en mi corazón y en mi memoria para siempre. – That day was seared in my heart and memory forever.

To scar

This usage is somewhat similar to the one we saw above, though its nuances are a bit different. Although we could use the English verb “to scar” for this meaning, other options might be verbs like “to hurt” or even specific verbs that refer to the opening of wounds that leave visible marks like scratches.

Just like in English, this use of marcar in Spanish also has a more figurative sense when referring to emotional wounds. In these cases, it usually means “to be scarred” or “to become scarred”

• Las espinas del rosal me marcaron el brazo. – The rosebush thorns scraped my arm.

• Ese accidente marcó mi pierna con una cicatriz en forma de herradura. – That accident scarred my leg with a horseshoe-shaped scar.

• La muerte de sus padres marcó a Bruce Wayne para siempre. – The death of his parents marked Bruce Wayne forever.

To read

This use of marcar in Spanish is for reading devices such as a clock or thermometer. In English you can think of instances where you might “take a reading,” and then say that it “reads” a certain number, though in Spanish marcar is used more widely. Synonyms could also be “to indicate” or “to show.”

• ¡Qué calor hace! ¿Cuánto marca el termostato? – It’s so hot! How much does the thermostat read?

• Es mejor que se quede en casa, Sr. Miguel. El termómetro marcó 39°C; tiene fiebre. – You’d better stay home, Mr. Miguel. The thermometer read 39°C; you have a fever.

• Cuando el reloj marcó las 12, el encantamiento de la Cenicienta se rompió. – When the clock struck 12, Cinderella’s enchantment was broken.

To indicate

With this meaning, you can think of the old saying that “X marks the spot.” Here we use marcar “to indicate” a location, “to point the way,” or to simply imply something with signs or indications. As in English, this can be tangible or figurative.

• La “X” marca el lugar donde se encuentra enterrado el tesoro. – The “X” indicates the place where the treasure is buried.

• Su visita marcó el camino que estaba destinado a seguir. – His visit was a turning point in the path he was destined to follow.

• Su padre le marcaba qué cosas podía hacer en su tiempo libre. – His father would dictate what things he could do in his free time.

To score [a goal]

If you’re into sports, you’ll like this use of marcar, especially if you like soccer, better known in Spanish as fútbol. In this context, marcar is usually used together with the word gol to express that a point was marked during the match. In this use, the phrase “marcar gol” translates as “to score a goal.” In some regions of Latin America, though, you’re more likely to hear the other synonyms “hacer gol” or “meter gol.”

• En la final del mundial de fútbol, Argentina marcó tres goles. – In the World Cup final, Argentina scored three goals.

• Los chicos tienen mucha resistencia al correr, pero no son muy buenos marcando goles. – The boys have a lot of stamina when running, but they are not very good at scoring goals.

If you’re into fútbol, you should definitely check out our other post on useful Spanish vocab for the World Cup!

To cover, To shadow

Continuing with sports, this is another widespread use not only in soccer, but also in basketball, football, field hockey and other team sports. When a player positions himself close to an opponent to make it difficult for him to perform, we also use the verb marcar in Spanish.

• Lo siento. No pude completar el pase porque el defensa me está marcando. – I’m sorry. I couldn’t complete the shot because the defender was shadowing me.

• El número 10 no pudo hacer mucho durante el partido porque el equipo contrario lo marcó muy bien. – Number 10 wasn’t able to do much during the match because the opposing team was covering him very well.

To clock

There are two meanings for marcar where it translates as “to clock” in English.

The first is in the workplace, where workers are obliged to register their time of arrival or departure. In English, you use the expressions “to clock in” and “to clock out,” whereas in Spanish the equivalents are “marcar la entrada” and “marcar la salida.”

The second use is more common in sports or other contexts where a precise time is recorded for some exercise.

• Tienes que marcar la entrada y la salida al trabajo.- You have to clock in and out for work.

• Marqué la salida a las 5 p.m., pero en realidad me quedé a hacer horas extras. – I clocked out at 5 p.m., but I actually stayed to work overtime.

• ¡Qué rápido corre Usain! ¡Marcó un tiempo de 9.58 segundos! – Usain runs so fast! He clocked a time of 9.58 seconds!

• Si quieren ir a las olimpiadas, deben marcar menos de 45 segundos en la carrera de 400 metros. – If they want to go to the Olympics, they need to score less than 45 seconds in the 400-meter race.

To register

When we’re talking about writing down a score, marcar can be translated as “to register” or simply “to mark down.” This is not necessarily the action of keeping score, but rather the act of tallying the numbers.

• La profesora marcó las calificaciones de todos en el cuadro. – The teacher entered everyone’s grades on the chart.

• ¿Puedes marcar las asistencias en esta hoja? – Can you check off the attendance on this sheet?

To set, To define

We can use marcar in the sense of defining something, for example when talking about setting rules, establishing limits, or fixing agreements. This same use applies to defining patterns or establishing a certain order, as in setting a pace in a march or marking the beat in music.

• La reina marcó los principios del país con su impecable ejemplo. – The queen defined the principles of the country with her flawless example.

• Hay que marcar reglas estrictas para evitar malos entendidos. – Strict rules must be set to avoid misunderstandings.

• ¡Marquemos los límites de una vez para no discutir más! – Let’s set the limits once and for all so that we can stop arguing!

• Ellos están marcando el ritmo con sus pies. – They are setting the pace with their feet.

To style [hair]

This use of marcar in Spanish is exclusive to styling hair. It’s especially used when styling the hair by using clips or curlers. When someone styles their own hair, the reflexive form marcarse is used.

• Si quieres marcar tu cabello sin calor, debes usar crema para peinar. – If you want to style your hair without heat, you should use styling cream.

• Ayer me marqué el cabello con unos rollos para el cabello. – Yesterday I styled my hair with hair rollers.

Marcar: Related Nouns

As we’ve seen through all the different uses of marcar as a verb, it’s clearly a very versatile word in Spanish. It should come as little surprise then, that a number of Spanish nouns are also derived from the same roots. Here we’ll introduce these nouns related to marcar.

Una marca

This noun has several meanings, so we’ll list the main ones:

1. A visible mark

• Hay una marca muy extraña en la pared. – There is a very strange mark on the wall.

2. A trail marking, A blaze

• Sigue las marcas rojas del sendero hasta el pueblo. – Follow the red trail markings to the village.

3. A scar

• Hace un año me mordió un perro y me dejó marca. – A year ago I was bitten by a dog and it left a scar.

4. A brand

• Esta es mi marca de perfumes favorita. – This is my favorite perfume brand.

5. A record

• El atleta rompió su marca de velocidad. – The athlete broke his speed record.

Un marcador

This Spanish noun has several meanings related to marking.

1. A scoreboard

Note that the straight definition of un marcador in this meaning is indeed the physical sign showing the score: a scoreboard. It is also used metaphorically in the sports media to refer to the results that are shown on the scoreboard, as we demonstrate in our example:

• El marcador está empatado. – The score is tied.

2. An indicator

• El carbono-13 es un marcador molecular muy útil. – Carbon-13 is a very useful molecular marker.

3. An ink marker, such as a Sharpie.

Note that  although this use of marcador is only common in a few Latin American countries, in much of the Spanish-speaking world people will refer to the same marker as a “rotulador.”

• ¿Estás usando marcadores permanentes? Ten cuidado con la ropa. – Are you using permanent markers? Be careful with your clothes.

Un marcapaso, Un marcapasos

Pacemaker

Yes, this is the Spanish word for the medical device that regulates the heartbeat, known in English as a pacemaker. Both “marcapaso” and “marcapasos” are used to refer to this device in singular.

This usage comes from the notion of marcar that we saw earlier as “to set” in English, since this device sets the beat that the heart follows.

• Marta tiene un marcapasos que le alegra el corazón. – Marta has a pacemaker that livens up her heart.

Una marcapáginas

Bookmark

When it comes to actual physical bookmarks that you put in books to know what page you are on, we use the word marcapáginas, which literally means “page marker.”

For digital bookmarks, such as when we bookmark a web page, the official term is “marcador de internet,” but we actually just say “marcador.”

• ¡Qué bonito marcapáginas! ¿Dónde lo compraste? – What a nice bookmark, where did you buy it?

El marcaje

Covering, Shadowing

Above we saw that marcar can mean following a player closely to obstruct his movements. Well, this act of covering an opponent is known as marcaje in Spanish.

• El marcaje de la defensa ha sido ineludible. – The defense’s shadowing has been unavoidable.

Conclusion

In this post, we discovered that marcar in Spanish means much more than just to mark in English. Before we go, let’s just do a quick review.

First, we went over marcar conjugation. We saw that this verb follows the regular -ar conjugation rules, with just the consonant change that occurs from c to qu for phonetic reasons. We provided the marcar conjugation tables with both simple and compound tenses.

Then came the main body of this post, where we went over the myriad uses of this multifaceted verb. We saw 13 unique applications of the verb marcar, with examples for every one and quite a variety of possible translations between them all.

Finally, we also included a bonus section where we introduced the various nouns which share the same roots as the verb marcar. There, too, we saw how there are so many possible meanings for the concept beyond simply marking!