ficar

• ficare

Inherited from Vulgar Latin *fīg(i)cāre, frequentative based on Latin fīgere (“drive in, fix in place”).

• IPA^(key): /fiˈka(ɾ)/
• Syllabification: fi‧car
• Rhymes: -a(ɾ)

ficar

1. (transitive) to insert, to put in

   Fica las cosas dintro d'ixa caixa. ― Put the things in that box.

• “ficar”, in Aragonario, diccionario aragonés–castellano (in Spanish)

• aficar

Inherited from Vulgar Latin *fīg(i)cāre, frequentative based on Latin fīgere (“drive in, fix in place”).

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [fiˈka]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [fiˈkaɾ]

• Audio (Barcelona):

  (file)

• Homophone: ficà
• Rhymes: -a(ɾ)

ficar (first-person singular present fico, first-person singular preterite fiquí, past participle ficat)

1. (transitive) to insert, to put in

   Synonyms: introduir, metre, posar

   Fica les coses dins aquella capsa. ― Put the things in that box.

2. (pronominal) to meddle, to interfere

   Synonym: entrar

   No t'hi fiquis si no t'ho demanen. ― Don't get involved if they don't ask you to.

• Some speakers confuse posar with ficar. Posar in Catalan is equivalent to the Spanish poner, while ficar is equivalent to the Spanish meter.

• ficar el nas

• “ficar”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
• “ficar”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2026
• “ficar” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

From Old Galician-Portuguese ficar, from Vulgar Latin *fīg(i)cāre, frequentative based on Latin fīgere (“drive in, fix in place”). Doublet of fincar.

• IPA^(key): /fiˈkaɾ/ [fiˈkɑɾ]
• Rhymes: -aɾ
• Hyphenation: fi‧car

ficar (first-person singular present fico, first-person singular preterite fiquei, past participle ficado)

1. (intransitive) to remain; to be left
   • 1281, M. Lucas Álvarez, P. Lucas Domínguez, editors, El priorato benedictino de San Vicenzo de Pombeiro y su colección diplomática en la Edad Media, Sada / A Coruña: Ediciós do Castro, page 76:

     Et depoys de uossa morte fique este casar sobredito a uosso fillo Lourenço et a una persona que uos nomeardes a uosso passamento

     And after your death, this said farmhouse will be left to your son Lourenzo and to a person that you'll appoint at the moment of your decease

   Synonym: quedar

2. (transitive) to thrust, drive
   • c. 1350, Kevin M. Parker (ed.), Historia Troyana. Santiago: Instituto "Padre Sarmiento", page 104:

     Et cõ grande omjldade foy ficar os geollos ante o altar

     And with great humbleness he came before the altar and kneeled [lit. "he drove his knees"]

   Synonym: espetar

4. (copulative) to become; to get; to end up

   Synonym: quedar

• fito

• Seoane, Ernesto Xosé González; Granja, María Álvarez de la; Agrelo, Ana Isabel Boullón (2006–2022), “ficar”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval [Dictionary of dictionaries of Medieval Galician] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Barreiro, Xavier Varela; Guinovart, Xavier Gómez (2006–2018), “ficar”, in Corpus Xelmírez: corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval [Corpus Xelmírez: linguistic corpus of Medieval Galicia] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “ficar”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “ficar”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “ficar”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

From Old Galician-Portuguese ficar (also fincar), from Vulgar Latin *fīg(i)cāre, frequentative based on Latin fīgere (“drive in, fix in place”). Doublet of fincar.

• Audio (Portugal (Porto)):

  (file)

ficar (first-person singular present fico, first-person singular preterite fiquei, past participle ficado)

2. (copulative) to become; to get; to end up

   Synonyms: tornar, acabar

   Eu vou ficar rico. ― I’ll get rich.

   Ficamos com nojo daquela comida. ― We were disgusted by that food.

   Eu fiquei sem dinheiro. ― I ended up penniless.

4. (intransitive) to be, to be located [with em or another locational preposition ‘in a fixed location’]

   Synonyms: localizar, ser

   A casa dela fica na esquina desse quarteirão.

   Her house is on the corner of this block.

   Londres fica no sul da Inglaterra.

   London is in the south of England.

6. (intransitive) to stay (at); to remain (in) [with em ‘a location’]

   Ela ficou em casa, não quis vir com a gente.

   She stayed home, didn't wanna come with us.

   • 2000, J. K. Rowling, Lia Wyler, Harry Potter e o Cálice de Fogo, Rocco, page 514:

     E quantos serão bastante tolos para ficar longe de mim?

     And how many will be foolish enough to stay away from me?

8. (intransitive) to remain (to be left over)

   Synonym: sobrar

   Só ficaram algumas migalhas. ― Only a few crumbs remained.

10. (intransitive) to stay (to remain in a particular place) [with em ‘a location’]

    Fiquei três dias em Munique. ― I stayed three days in Munich.

12. (figurative, intransitive) not to go any further

    Synonym: parar

    A discussão fica por aqui. ― The discussion stops here. (literally, “stays around here”)

14. (auxiliary) forms the habitual aspect [with gerund]; to tend to; to do often

    João fica lendo o dia inteiro.

    John tends to read all day.

    Eu ficava complicando tudo no nosso jogo.

    I would keep complicating everything in our game.

    Esses caras ficam só falando, não fazem nada, tá ligado?

    Those guys be only talkin', no actin', know what I mean?

15. (intransitive, Brazil, slang) to make out (to share kisses and physical touch; does not imply sex)
    2. (intransitive, Brazil, slang) to have a one-night stand (sexually) [with com ‘with someone’]

For quotations using this term, see Citations:ficar.

• → Guianese Creole: fika
  • Karipúna Creole French: fika

• “ficar”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “ficar”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

• fincar (obsolete)

Inherited from Old Spanish ficar (also fincar), from Vulgar Latin *fīg(i)cāre, frequentative based on Latin fīgere (“drive in, fix in place”). Doublet of hincar.

• IPA^(key): /fiˈkaɾ/ [fiˈkaɾ]
• Rhymes: -aɾ
• Syllabification: fi‧car

ficar (first-person singular present fico, first-person singular preterite fiqué, past participle ficado)

1. (obsolete, intransitive) synonym of quedar

• “ficar”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025