Confiar

Confiar is a Spanish verb meaning to trust, to rely on, or to confide. It is commonly used with the preposition en to indicate trust in a person, thing, or situation: confiar en alguien; confiar en una empresa; confiar en que todo saldrá bien. It can also express entrusting something to someone: confiar un secreto a alguien or confiarle una tarea.

Etymology and conjugation: Confiar derives from Latin confidāre, formed from con- “together” and fidāre “to trust.” The verb belongs to the regular -ar conjugation, but its present tense includes a stem vowel change in several forms (for example, confío, confías, confía, confiamos, confiáis, confían). The imperfect is confiaba, confiabas; the preterite is confié, confiaron. It also appears in reflexive forms such as confiarse (to confide in or to entrust oneself to someone) and in constructions like confiarse a alguien.

Usage notes: In everyday language confiar is neutral and widely used in both Latin American and Iberian Spanish. It can denote personal trust, credibility, or reliance on a future outcome. When referring to entrusting a thing to someone, the construction confiar algo a alguien is common (or confiarle algo). In some contexts, fiarse is a close synonym, often more informal, whereas confiar may carry a more formal or deliberate nuance.