cumplirse

Cumplirse is a Spanish pronominal verb that means to be fulfilled, to come to pass, or to be realized. It denotes that a plan, promise, obligation, deadline, or expectation reaches its end or becomes true. The form is the reflexive version of cumplir and is often used in impersonal constructions with the pronoun se.

In ordinary use, cumplir con plus an object occurs to express fulfilling duties or requirements, as in cumplir con un deber or cumplir con los requisitos. When the focus is the event or fact that arrives or is completed, the reflexive se form is common: se cumplen los plazos, se cumplió la promesa, se cumplen diez años. The phrase se cumple a menudo with dates, deadlines, or anniversaries, e.g., Hoy se cumplen diez años.

Etymology: cumple derives from cumplir, which in turn comes from Latin or Vulgar Latin forms related to completing or filling up, and the reflexive se marks the obligation or event as being realized rather than performed by a subject.

Conjugation notes: cumplir se conjugates regularly as an -ir verb with reflexive pronouns. Present: me cumplo, te cumples, se cumple, nos cumplimos, os cumplís, se cumplen. Preterite: me cumplí, te cumpliste, se cumplió, nos cumplimos, os cumplisteis, se cumplieron. Other tenses follow the same pattern with the corresponding reflexive pronouns (se cumplirá, se cumplían, que me cumpla, etc.).

Related terms include cumplir con (to comply with), realizarse (to come true), and materializarse (to materialize). Cumplirse is particularly common in legal, contractual, and social contexts where outcomes or dates are reported as having occurred.