picotear

Spanish

Etymology

From pico (“beak”) +‎ -ear.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pikoteˈaɾ/ [pi.ko.t̪eˈaɾ]
• Rhymes: -aɾ
• Syllabification: pi‧co‧te‧ar

Verb

picotear (first-person singular present picoteo, first-person singular preterite picoteé, past participle picoteado)

1. (transitive) to peck (strike with a beak)
2. (transitive, intransitive) to nibble

   Synonym: picar

Conjugation

    Conjugation of picotear (See Appendix:Spanish verbs)

infinitive			picotear
gerund			picoteando
past participle				masculine		feminine
		singular		picoteado		picoteada
		plural		picoteados		picoteadas
		singular			plural
		1st person	2nd person	3rd person	1st person	2nd person	3rd person
indicative		yo	tú vos	él/ella/ello usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ellos/ellas ustedes
	present	picoteo	picoteastú picoteásvos	picotea	picoteamos	picoteáis	picotean
	imperfect	picoteaba	picoteabas	picoteaba	picoteábamos	picoteabais	picoteaban
	preterite	picoteé	picoteaste	picoteó	picoteamos	picoteasteis	picotearon
	future	picotearé	picotearás	picoteará	picotearemos	picotearéis	picotearán
	conditional	picotearía	picotearías	picotearía	picotearíamos	picotearíais	picotearían
subjunctive		yo	tú vos	él/ella/ello usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ellos/ellas ustedes
	present	picotee	picoteestú picoteésvos2	picotee	picoteemos	picoteéis	picoteen
	imperfect (ra)	picoteara	picotearas	picoteara	picoteáramos	picotearais	picotearan
	imperfect (se)	picotease	picoteases	picotease	picoteásemos	picoteaseis	picoteasen
	future1	picoteare	picoteares	picoteare	picoteáremos	picoteareis	picotearen
imperative		—	tú vos	usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ustedes
	affirmative		picoteatú picoteávos	picotee	picoteemos	picotead	picoteen
	negative		no picotees	no picotee	no picoteemos	no picoteéis	no picoteen

¹Mostly obsolete, now mainly used in legal language.
²Argentine and Uruguayan voseo prefers the tú form for the present subjunctive.

    Selected combined forms of picotear

These forms are generated automatically and may not actually be used. Pronoun usage varies by region.

		singular			plural
		1st person	2nd person	3rd person	1st person	2nd person	3rd person
with infinitive picotear
	dative	picotearme	picotearte	picotearle, picotearse	picotearnos	picotearos	picotearles, picotearse
	accusative	picotearme	picotearte	picotearlo, picotearla, picotearse	picotearnos	picotearos	picotearlos, picotearlas, picotearse
with gerund picoteando
	dative	picoteándome	picoteándote	picoteándole, picoteándose	picoteándonos	picoteándoos	picoteándoles, picoteándose
	accusative	picoteándome	picoteándote	picoteándolo, picoteándola, picoteándose	picoteándonos	picoteándoos	picoteándolos, picoteándolas, picoteándose
with informal second-person singular tú imperative picotea
	dative	picotéame	picotéate	picotéale	picotéanos	not used	picotéales
	accusative	picotéame	picotéate	picotéalo, picotéala	picotéanos	not used	picotéalos, picotéalas
with informal second-person singular vos imperative picoteá
	dative	picoteame	picoteate	picoteale	picoteanos	not used	picoteales
	accusative	picoteame	picoteate	picotealo, picoteala	picoteanos	not used	picotealos, picotealas
with formal second-person singular imperative picotee
	dative	picotéeme	not used	picotéele, picotéese	picotéenos	not used	picotéeles
	accusative	picotéeme	not used	picotéelo, picotéela, picotéese	picotéenos	not used	picotéelos, picotéelas
with first-person plural imperative picoteemos
	dative	not used	picoteémoste	picoteémosle	picoteémonos	picoteémoos	picoteémosles
	accusative	not used	picoteémoste	picoteémoslo, picoteémosla	picoteémonos	picoteémoos	picoteémoslos, picoteémoslas
with informal second-person plural imperative picotead
	dative	picoteadme	not used	picoteadle	picoteadnos	picoteaos	picoteadles
	accusative	picoteadme	not used	picoteadlo, picoteadla	picoteadnos	picoteaos	picoteadlos, picoteadlas
with formal second-person plural imperative picoteen
	dative	picotéenme	not used	picotéenle	picotéennos	not used	picotéenles, picotéense
	accusative	picotéenme	not used	picotéenlo, picotéenla	picotéennos	not used	picotéenlos, picotéenlas, picotéense

Derived terms

• picoteo

 

Further reading

• “picotear”, in Diccionario de la lengua española (in Spanish), online version 23.7, Royal Spanish Academy, 2023 November 28