padecen

Padecen is a verb form in Spanish. It is the third-person plural present indicative of padecer, meaning "they suffer" or "you all suffer" (ustedes in Latin America, vosotros or ustedes in Spain depending on regional usage). The verb padecer itself means to suffer, endure, or be afflicted by something, including illness, misfortune, or difficult circumstances. It can refer to both physical pain and more general hardship, and it is used across formal and informal registers.

Padecer is commonly used with de to express suffering from a condition or illness, as in padecen de una enfermedad (they suffer from a disease) or padecen de hambre (they suffer from hunger). It can also describe experiencing adverse outcomes or situations, for example padecen las consecuencias (they suffer the consequences). In some contexts, it can take a direct object to describe enduring a difficulty, such as padecen una gran pérdida (they endure a great loss).

Conjugation: padecer is irregular in the first-person singular present, yielding padezco (yo), while other present forms are padeces (tú), padece (él/ella/usted), padecemos (nosotros), padecéis (vosotros), padecen (ellos/ellas/ustedes). The form padecen corresponds to the third-person plural present indicative.

Etymology: padecer comes from the Latin pati, meaning "to suffer," and arrived in Spanish through medieval and early modern forms, acquiring the sense of enduring pain or misfortune.

Noun form: the related noun padecimiento means "suffering" or "affliction" and is used to refer to a medical condition or chronic hardship. Example: un padecimiento crónico means a chronic illness.

See also: padecimiento, padecer de.