ríes

ríes is the second-person singular present indicative form of the Spanish verb reír, meaning “you laugh.” It is used with the informal subject tú to describe someone’s current or habitual laughing. The accent on the í marks the stressed syllable, helping distinguish this form from other conjugations that would alter meaning or pronunciation.

Etymology and form: Reír comes from Latin ridēre. In the present tense, reír shows an irregular stem in many forms, resulting in río, ríes, ríe, reímos, reís, ríen. The forms rí-, ré- and the accented í indicate the vowel alternation that characterizes this irregular verb and its related forms. The spelling ríes must include the acute accent to indicate the correct stress pattern.

Pronunciation: In standard speech, ríes is pronounced with a tapped or trilled r at the start and two syllables: rí-es. The initial syllable carries the main stress, and the vowel combination yields a two-syllable pronunciation roughly sounding like “REE-ess.”

Usage notes: ríes appears in everyday dialogue to indicate that the listener laughs. It may appear in questions, statements, or exclamations, for example: “Tú ríes cuando ves esa película” or “¿Ríes de verdad?” The verb reír can also be used reflexively or in idioms such as reírse de alguien (to laugh at someone) or hacer reír (to make someone laugh).

See also: reír, ríe, río, reímos, reís, ríen.