Decís

Decís is the second-person singular present indicative form of the Spanish verb decir in the voseo variety. It is used with the pronoun vos, the informal you in several dialects, most notably Rioplatense Spanish spoken in Argentina and Uruguay, and also in parts of Paraguay and Central America. In these varieties, the present indicative for vos is decís, while the standard tú form is dices. The plural ustedes/ustedes dicen is used for “you (all) say,” with vosotros not typically used in these regions.

Grammatical notes indicate that decís shares the same verb stem as decir, but the vos form carries its own endings. The full present-tense paradigm for decir across dialects includes yo digo, tú dices, él dice, nosotros decimos, ustedes dicen; with vos, the form is decís. The voseo system also affects related moods and tenses (for example, vos decías in the imperfect normally corresponds to tú decías). The imperative form for vos is decí, used for commands such as “Decí la verdad.”

Usage and register typically place decís in informal, spoken discourse. It is a hallmark of everyday speech in regions that practice voseo and may appear in informal writing that aims to reflect those dialects. In formal Spanish and in most other dialects, decir is conjugated with tú dices or ustedes dicen, rather than decís.

Etymology traces decís to decir, from the Latin dicere. The accent on í marks the stress pattern characteristic of voseo forms. See also voseo, conjugation of decir, and regional Spanish varieties.