Tomar is one of those verbs that feels reassuringly familiar at first — it looks a bit like “to take,” and that’s often exactly what it means.
But spend any time in a Spanish-speaking country and you’ll quickly realise it does far more than that. A morning coffee, a bus ride, a tough decision, a lazy afternoon on the beach — tomar turns up in all of them. Here are the five meanings that will make this verb click.
1️⃣ Tomar = to take (transport)
When you’re hopping on a bus, jumping on the metro, or catching a train, tomar is the natural verb to use — more common in everyday speech than coger in Latin America, and perfectly standard across the Spanish-speaking world.
- Tomo el autobús para ir al trabajo. — I take the bus to go to work.
- Mañana tomo el tren a Madrid. Salgo a las ocho. — Tomorrow I’m taking the train to Madrid. I leave at eight.
2️⃣ Tomar = to have (food and drinks)
At the bar, at breakfast, or out with friends, tomar is the go-to verb for consuming food and drinks. Think of it as the Spanish equivalent of “to have” in phrases like “I’ll have a coffee.”
- Tomo un café por la mañana. — I have a coffee in the morning.
- ¿Qué tomas? Yo invito. — What are you having? It’s on me.
3️⃣ Tomar = to take (medicine)
When it comes to pills, drops, or any kind of medication, Spanish uses tomar rather than usar or beber. It’s the fixed, natural choice in medical and everyday contexts alike.
- Tomo una pastilla para el dolor. — I take a pill for the pain.
- El médico me dijo que tome este jarabe tres veces al día. — The doctor told me to take this syrup three times a day.
4️⃣ Tomar = to make (decisions)
In English you “make” a decision — in Spanish, you “take” one. Tomar una decisión is the standard, fixed expression and the one you’ll hear in every context from casual conversation to formal meetings.
- Hoy tomo una decisión importante. — I make an important decision today.
- Llevamos semanas sin tomar una decisión. Hay que actuar ya. — We’ve been weeks without making a decision. We need to act now.
5️⃣ Tomar el sol = to sunbathe
Literally “to take the sun,” this fixed expression is the standard way to talk about sunbathing in Spanish. Short, simple, and very commonly used — especially in a country with as much sunshine as Spain.
- Tomo el sol en la playa. — I sunbathe at the beach.
- Los domingos me gusta tomar el sol en el jardín con un buen libro. — On Sundays I like to sunbathe in the garden with a good book.
From the morning commute to an afternoon on the beach, tomar threads its way through the whole day. The food and drink meaning alone is worth mastering immediately — you’ll need it every time you sit down at a café or bar.
🗣️ Shadowing Practice
Listen to the audio and repeat each sentence right after the speaker, matching their pronunciation, intonation, and rhythm. All sentences are based on the examples above.
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