begin

UK:**UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/bɪˈgɪn/US:USA pronunciation: IPA and respellingUSA pronunciation: IPA/bɪˈgɪn/ ,USA pronunciation: respelling(bi gin′)

Inflections of 'begin' (v): (⇒ conjugate)
begins
v 3rd person singular
beginning
v pres p
began
v past
begun
v past p
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WordReference English-Spanish Dictionary © 2026:

Principal Translations
InglésEspañol
begin [sth]⇒ vtr(start: an activity)empezar⇒ vtr
  comenzar⇒ vtr
 Liz begins her homework as soon as she gets home.
 Liz empieza a hacer sus tareas tan pronto llega a su casa.
begin [sth] vtr(start off)iniciar⇒ vtr
 The priest begins the church service with a song.
 En la iglesia, el sacerdote inicia el servicio con una canción.
begin doing [sth] vtr(start: doing)empezar a vtr + prep
 In any discussion, Wendy is always first to begin disagreeing.
 En cualquier discusión, Wendy siempre es la que empieza a llevar la contra.
begin to do [sth] vi + prep(start: to do)empezar a hacer algo loc verb
 The water began to boil in the pan.
 El agua empezó a hervir en la olla.
begin⇒ vi(start doing)empezar⇒, comenzar⇒ vtr
 This project looks difficult, but the sooner we begin, the sooner we'll be finished.
 Este proyecto parece difícil, pero cuanto antes lo empecemos, antes lo vamos a terminar.
begin vi(event: start)empezar⇒ vtr
 The crowd was waiting for the concert to begin.
 La muchedumbre estaba esperando que el concierto empezara.
begin vi(come into being)comenzar⇒ vtr
 A rooster crows as the day begins.
 El gallo canta al comenzar el día.
begin vi(start speaking)comenzar⇒ vtr
 "You must be wondering", the detective began, "why I've brought you all here."
 "Os debéis estar preguntando", comenzó el detective, "por qué os he traído a todos aquí".
 Is something important missing? Report an error or suggest an improvement.

WordReference English-Spanish Dictionary © 2026:

Compound Forms:
InglésEspañol
begin by doing [sth] vi + prep(do first)empezar por vi + prep
 When learning a new recipe, it is best to begin by reading all the way through.
 Si vas a seguir una nueva receta, es mejor empezar por leerla toda.
start afresh,
begin afresh vi + adv		(begin again)empezar de nuevo loc verb
  comenzar de cero loc verb
start [sth] afresh,
begin [sth] afresh vtr + adv		(begin again)empezar de nuevo loc verb
  comenzar de cero loc verb
to begin with expr(first of several things)en primer lugar expr
  para empezar, para comenzar expr
 Frank would be a terrible grammar teacher—to begin with, he hates kids; furthermore, he dislikes reading.
 Frank sería un pésimo profesor de gramática: en primer lugar, detesta los niños y, además, no le gusta leer.
to begin with expr(originally)ni siquiera loc adv
 I'm not surprised that Deana quit dance lessons—she didn't like dancing to begin with.
 No me sorprende que Deana haya dejado las clases de baile: ni siquiera le gustaba bailar.
 Is something important missing? Report an error or suggest an improvement.

'begin' aparece también en las siguientes entradas:
In the English description:
at first - break ground - break out - break out in a sweat - bring into being - call to order - catch - commence - dawn - enter - fall to - fire away - for a start - for openers - for starters - fresh start - freshen - germinate - get started - gin - go on - go to it - green light - here goes - hit the ground running - kick in - kick off - launch - launch an attack - launch into - lead off - lead with - make a fresh start - make a move - make a start - off to a good start - open - originally - originate - originate in - plunge into - process - reignite - restart - set forward - set in motion - set off - set out on - settle - sprout
Spanish:
entablar - iniciar - rehacer - repuntar - amanecer - comenzar - empezar - inaugurar - incoar - liar - poner - soltar el mirlo - abrir a pruebas - dar comienzo a algo - dar curso a - dar inicio - en primera instancia - entrar en conflicto - iniciar con - iniciar operaciones - iniciar su trayectoria - ir yendo a - abrir - de primera entrada - romper las hostilidades - expedientar - principiar - recomenzar - reiniciar - resquebrar - alborear - coger gusto - aborrascar

Collocations: begin to [see, understand], begin to feel [threatened, depressed, joy], I'm beginning to get [annoyed, anxious, tired], more...

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See Google Translate's machine translation of 'begin'.

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