quejar

Quejar is a Spanish verb that primarily means to complain or to express dissatisfaction. It is commonly used in both transitive and in reflexive forms (quejarse), with quejarse being the more frequent way to convey personal complaint. The related noun queja denotes the act or instance of complaining, as in “presentar una queja.”

Etymology and forms: Quejar comes from Latin queri, meaning to complain or lament, and has developed into the modern Spanish verb with the characteristic -ar infinitive. The verb follows regular -ar conjugation patterns for most tenses, with a distinctive yo form in the present indicative and preterite. Examples include: present—quejo, quejas, queja, quejamos, quejáis, quejan; preterite—quejé, quejaste, quejó, quejamos, quejasteis, quejaron; imperfect—quejaba, quejabas, quejaba, quejábamos, quejabais, quejaban. The reflexive form behaves similarly: me quejo, te quejas, se queja, nos quejamos, os quejáis, se quejan. The present participle is quejando and the past participle is quejado.

Usage: Quejarse de algo is the common construction to specify the subject of the complaint (por ejemplo, de un problema). In addition to everyday speech, queja appears in formal contexts as “una queja” or “presentar una queja” to communicate dissatisfaction to an authority or organization.

Other notes: Quejar can also appear as a family name or in place names in Spanish-speaking regions, where it is capitalized as a proper noun. Related forms exist in other Iberian languages (e.g., queixar-se in Portuguese).