colar

Asturian

Etymology

From Latin cōlāre.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /koˈlaɾ/ [koˈlaɾ]
• Rhymes: -aɾ
• Syllabification: co‧lar

Verb

colar (first-person singular indicative present colo, past participle coláu)

1. to leave, go away

   Synonym: marchar

2. (something in the distance) to disappear from view
3. to seep through, leak

   Synonym: perder

4. to do the laundry
5. to sift
6. to strain
7. to assume something as true
8. (reflexive) to fall in love

   Synonym: namorar

9. (reflexive, mining) to fall into a mineshaft

Conjugation

Conjugation of colar

infinitive		colar
gerund		colando
past participle		m coláu, f colada, n colao, m pl colaos, f pl colaes
person		first singular yo	second singular tu	third singular él/elli	first plural nosotros/nós	second plural vosotros/vós	third plural ellos
indicative	present	colo	coles	cola	colamos	coláis	colen
	imperfect	colaba	colabes	colaba	colábemos, colábamos	colabeis, colabais	colaben
	preterite	colé	colasti, colesti	coló	colemos	colastis, colestis	colaron
	pluperfect	colare, colara	colares, colaras	colare, colara	coláremos, coláramos	colareis, colarais	colaren, colaran
	future	colaré	colarás	colará	colaremos	colaréis	colarán
	conditional	colaría	colaríes	colaría	colaríemos, colaríamos	colaríeis, colaríais	colaríen
subjunctive	present	cole	coles, colas	cole	colemos	coléis	colen, colan
	imperfect	colare, colara	colares, colaras	colare, colara	coláremos, coláramos	colareis, colarais	colaren, colaran
imperative		—	cola	—	—	colái	—

Further reading

• “colar”, in Diccionariu de la llingua asturiana [Dictionary of the Asturian Language] (in Asturian), 1ª edición, Academia de la Llingua Asturiana, 2000, →ISBN
• Xosé Lluis García Arias (2002–2004), “colar”, in Diccionario general de la lengua asturiana [General Dictionary of the Asturian Language] (in Spanish), Editorial Prensa Asturiana, →ISBN

Catalan

Etymology

Inherited from Latin cōlāre (compare Occitan colar, French couler, Spanish colar).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [kuˈla]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [koˈla]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [koˈlaɾ]

Verb

colar (first-person singular present colo, first-person singular preterite colí, past participle colat); root stress: (Central, Valencia, Balearic) /ɔ/

1. to sift, to filter (a liquid)
2. to pour the molten metal from the crucible into the mold
3. (reflexive) to enter somewhere without permit or paying, e. g. to crash (a party)
4. (reflexive) to advance before someone, in a queue, without waiting for the turn

Conjugation

    Conjugation of colar (first conjugation)

infinitive			colar
gerund			colant
past participle				masculine		feminine
		singular		colat		colada
		plural		colats		colades
person		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		jo	tu	ell/ella vostè	nosaltres nós	vosaltres vós	ells/elles vostès
	present	colo	coles	cola	colem	coleu	colen
	imperfect	colava	colaves	colava	colàvem	colàveu	colaven
	future	colaré	colaràs	colarà	colarem	colareu	colaran
	preterite	colí	colares	colà	colàrem	colàreu	colaren
	conditional	colaria	colaries	colaria	colaríem	colaríeu	colarien
subjunctive		jo	tu	ell/ella vostè	nosaltres nós	vosaltres vós	ells/elles vostès
	present	coli	colis	coli	colem	coleu	colin
	imperfect	colés	colessis	colés	coléssim	coléssiu	colessin
imperative		—	tu	vostè	nosaltres	vosaltres vós	vostès
	affirmative	—	cola	coli	colem	coleu	colin
	negative (no)	—	no colis	no coli	no colem	no coleu	no colin

Derived terms

• colada
• colador
• colament
• colat
• escolar
• trascolar

Related terms

• coladís

Further reading

• “colar”, 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
• “colar” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Franco-Provençal

Etymology

Inherited from Latin cōlāre.

Verb

colar (ORB, broad)

1. to flow, run
2. to strain, filter
3. to slip, glide

References

• couler in DicoFranPro: Dictionnaire Français/Francoprovençal – on dicofranpro.llm.umontreal.ca
• colar in Lo trèsor Arpitan – on arpitan.eu

Further information

• AIS: Sprach- und Sachatlas Italiens und der Südschweiz [Linguistic and Ethnographic Atlas of Italy and Southern Switzerland] – map 1201: “colare il latte” – on navigais-web.pd.istc.cnr.it
• Walther von Wartburg (1928–2002), “cōlare”, in Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, volume 2: C Q K, page 877

Galician

Etymology

Inherited from Old Galician-Portuguese colar, from Latin collaris.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /koˈlaɾ/ [koˈlaɾ]
• Rhymes: -aɾ

Noun

colar m (plural colares)

1. collar
2. necklace

Further reading

• “colar”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2026
• Seoane, Ernesto Xosé González; Granja, María Álvarez de la; Agrelo, Ana Isabel Boullón (2006–2022), “colar”, 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), “colar”, 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), “colar”, 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), “colar”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “colar”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

Latin

Verb

colar

1. first-person singular future passive indicative of colō

Portuguese

colar

Etymology 1

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *kʷel-der.?

Late Latin collum

Proto-Italic *-ālis

Latin -ālis

Late Latin -āris

Late Latin collāris

Late Latin -āre

Late Latin collāre

Portuguese colar

Inherited from Late Latin collāre, from collāris + -āre.

Alternative forms

• collar (pre-reform spelling)

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /koˈlaʁ/ [koˈlah]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /koˈlaʁ/ [koˈlah]
  • (São Paulo) IPA^(key): /koˈlaɾ/
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /koˈlaʁ/ [koˈlaχ]
  • (Caipira) IPA^(key): /koˈlaɻ/

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /kuˈlaɾ/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /kuˈlaɾ/
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /kuˈla.ɾi/

• Hyphenation: co‧lar

Noun

colar m (plural colares)

1. necklace, chain
2. (clothing) collar

Etymology 2

From cola +‎ -ar. Senses to receive one’s university diploma and to invest are a back-formation from colação.

Alternative forms

• collar (pre-reform spelling)

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /koˈla(ʁ)/ [koˈla(h)]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /koˈla(ʁ)/ [koˈla(h)]
  • (São Paulo) IPA^(key): /koˈla(ɾ)/
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /koˈla(ʁ)/ [koˈla(χ)]
  • (Caipira) IPA^(key): /koˈla(ɻ)/

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /kuˈlaɾ/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /kuˈlaɾ/
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /kuˈla.ɾi/

• Hyphenation: co‧lar

Verb

colar (first-person singular present colo, first-person singular preterite colei, past participle colado)

1. to glue (to join with glue)
2. to stick or attach, not necessarily using glue
   • 1938, Graciliano Ramos, “Baleia”, in Vidas Seccas [Barren Lives]‎^[1], Rio de Janeiro: Livraria José Olympio Editora, pages 131–132:

     Gostava de espojar-se ali, cobria-se de poeira, evitava as moscas e os mosquitos, e quando se levantava, tinha folhas seccas e gravetos collados ás feridas, era um bicho differente dos outros.

     She liked to wallow there, covering herself with dust, keeping the flies and mosquitoes away, and when she got up, dried leaves and twigs were stuck to her wounds: she’d become an animal unlike the others.

3. to invest (to receive a priest’s collar)
4. to settle a bill
5. (Brazil, colloquial) to approach, to get closer to (a person, thing or place)
6. (Brazil, colloquial) to cheat (on a test)

   Às vezes me perguntam se podem colar de mim nas provas. ― Sometimes people ask me if they can copy my answers on tests.

7. (computing, transitive) to paste (to insert a piece of media previously copied or cut from somewhere else)
8. (Brazil, usually as colar grau) to receive one’s university diploma, especially in a ceremonial manner
9. (Brazil, transitive) to invest (to ceremonially install someone in some office)

   Synonym: investir

10. (Brazil, LGBTQ) ellipsis of colar velcro

Conjugation

    Conjugation of colar (See Appendix:Portuguese verbs)

	Singular			Plural
	First-person (eu)	Second-person (tu)	Third-person (ele / ela / você)	First-person (nós)	Second-person (vós)	Third-person (eles / elas / vocês)
Infinitive
Impersonal	colar
Personal	colar	colares	colar	colarmos	colardes	colarem
Gerund
	colando
Past participle
Masculine	colado			colados
Feminine	colada			coladas
Indicative
Present	colo	colas	cola	colamos	colais	colam
Imperfect	colava	colavas	colava	colávamos	coláveis	colavam
Preterite	colei	colaste	colou	colamos1, colámos2	colastes	colaram
Pluperfect	colara	colaras	colara	coláramos	coláreis	colaram
Future	colarei	colarás	colará	colaremos	colareis	colarão
Conditional	colaria	colarias	colaria	colaríamos	colaríeis	colariam
Subjunctive
Present	cole	coles	cole	colemos	coleis	colem
Imperfect	colasse	colasses	colasse	colássemos	colásseis	colassem
Future	colar	colares	colar	colarmos	colardes	colarem
Imperative
Affirmative		cola	cole	colemos	colai	colem
Negative (não)		não coles	não cole	não colemos	não coleis	não colem

¹Brazilian Portuguese.
²European Portuguese.

Derived terms

• colagem
• copiar e colar

Related terms

• cola

References

“colar”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Further reading

• “colar”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /koˈlaɾ/ [koˈlaɾ]
• Rhymes: -aɾ
• Syllabification: co‧lar

Etymology 1

Inherited from Latin cōlāre whence English coulee and colander.

Verb

colar (first-person singular present cuelo, first-person singular preterite colé, past participle colado)

1. to sift, to strain, to filter
2. (Dominican Republic, Cuba) to prepare coffee
3. (colloquial) to dupe, hoodwink
4. (colloquial) to missay, say wrongly
5. (reflexive, colloquial) to fall for, fall in love
6. (reflexive, colloquial) to sneak into, to crash
   • 2019 July 7, Nando Cruz, “Perreando contra Blackstone”, in El Periódico‎^[2]:

     Por los altavoces suena 'Million dollar baby', de Cecilio G, el primer trapero que apoyó esta lucha. "A los 15 años me colaba en Razzmatazz / A los 16 me colé en el Sónar / Ahora el Sónar me paga por cantar", canturrea el público con visible entusiasmo.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

   • 2021 March 25, Manuel Ansede, “El mayor estudio hasta la fecha confirma la 'singularidad genética' de los vascos”, in El País‎^[3]:

     El antropólogo francés Paul Broca se coló una noche de 1862 en el cementerio de Zarautz para robar cráneos con los que estudiar las presuntas peculiaridades de lo que entonces se consideraba una raza primitiva.

     The French anthropologist Paul Broca sneaked into the Zarautz cemetery one night in 1862 to steal skulls with which to study the presumed peculiarities of what was then considered a primitive race.

7. to sift through, comb through

Conjugation

    Conjugation of colar (o-ue alternation) (See Appendix:Spanish verbs)

infinitive			colar
gerund			colando
past participle				masculine		feminine
		singular		colado		colada
		plural		colados		coladas
		singular			plural
		1st person	2nd person	3rd person	1st person	2nd person	3rd person
indicative		yo	tú vos	él/ella/ello usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ellos/ellas ustedes
	present	cuelo	cuelastú colásvos	cuela	colamos	coláis	cuelan
	imperfect	colaba	colabas	colaba	colábamos	colabais	colaban
	preterite	colé	colaste	coló	colamos	colasteis	colaron
	future	colaré	colarás	colará	colaremos	colaréis	colarán
	conditional	colaría	colarías	colaría	colaríamos	colaríais	colarían
subjunctive		yo	tú vos	él/ella/ello usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ellos/ellas ustedes
	present	cuele	cuelestú colésvos2	cuele	colemos	coléis	cuelen
	imperfect (ra)	colara	colaras	colara	coláramos	colarais	colaran
	imperfect (se)	colase	colases	colase	colásemos	colaseis	colasen
	future1	colare	colares	colare	coláremos	colareis	colaren
imperative		—	tú vos	usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ustedes
	affirmative		cuelatú colávos	cuele	colemos	colad	cuelen
	negative		no cueles	no cuele	no colemos	no coléis	no cuelen

¹Rare; now chiefly used in legal language.
²Argentine and Uruguayan voseo prefers the tuteo-form for the present subjunctive.

    Selected combined forms of colar (o-ue alternation)

These forms are generated automatically and may not actually be used. Pronoun usage varies by region.

		singular			plural
		1st person	2nd person	3rd person	1st person	2nd person	3rd person
with infinitive colar	dative	colarme	colarte	colarle, colarse	colarnos	colaros	colarles, colarse
	accusative	colarme	colarte	colarlo, colarla, colarse	colarnos	colaros	colarlos, colarlas, colarse
with gerund colando	dative	colándome	colándote	colándole, colándose	colándonos	colándoos	colándoles, colándose
	accusative	colándome	colándote	colándolo, colándola, colándose	colándonos	colándoos	colándolos, colándolas, colándose
with informal second-person singular tuteo imperative cuela	dative	cuélame	cuélate	cuélale	cuélanos	not used	cuélales
	accusative	cuélame	cuélate	cuélalo, cuélala	cuélanos	not used	cuélalos, cuélalas
with informal second-person singular voseo imperative colá	dative	colame	colate	colale	colanos	not used	colales
	accusative	colame	colate	colalo, colala	colanos	not used	colalos, colalas
with formal second-person singular imperative cuele	dative	cuéleme	not used	cuélele, cuélese	cuélenos	not used	cuéleles
	accusative	cuéleme	not used	cuélelo, cuélela, cuélese	cuélenos	not used	cuélelos, cuélelas
with first-person plural imperative colemos	dative	not used	colémoste	colémosle	colémonos	colémoos	colémosles
	accusative	not used	colémoste	colémoslo, colémosla	colémonos	colémoos	colémoslos, colémoslas
with informal second-person plural imperative colad	dative	coladme	not used	coladle	coladnos	colaos	coladles
	accusative	coladme	not used	coladlo, coladla	coladnos	colaos	coladlos, coladlas
with formal second-person plural imperative cuelen	dative	cuélenme	not used	cuélenle	cuélennos	not used	cuélenles, cuélense
	accusative	cuélenme	not used	cuélenlo, cuélenla	cuélennos	not used	cuélenlos, cuélenlas, cuélense

Derived terms

• piña colada

Related terms

• colación
• colador
• colársela
• escolar

See also

• tamizar

Etymology 2

A back-formation from Latin collātus, past participle of cōnferō (“to confer”).

Verb

colar (first-person singular present colo, first-person singular preterite colé, past participle colado)

1. (Christianity) to canonically confer (an ecclesiastical benefit)

Conjugation

    Conjugation of colar (See Appendix:Spanish verbs)

infinitive			colar
gerund			colando
past participle				masculine		feminine
		singular		colado		colada
		plural		colados		coladas
		singular			plural
		1st person	2nd person	3rd person	1st person	2nd person	3rd person
indicative		yo	tú vos	él/ella/ello usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ellos/ellas ustedes
	present	colo	colastú colásvos	cola	colamos	coláis	colan
	imperfect	colaba	colabas	colaba	colábamos	colabais	colaban
	preterite	colé	colaste	coló	colamos	colasteis	colaron
	future	colaré	colarás	colará	colaremos	colaréis	colarán
	conditional	colaría	colarías	colaría	colaríamos	colaríais	colarían
subjunctive		yo	tú vos	él/ella/ello usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ellos/ellas ustedes
	present	cole	colestú colésvos2	cole	colemos	coléis	colen
	imperfect (ra)	colara	colaras	colara	coláramos	colarais	colaran
	imperfect (se)	colase	colases	colase	colásemos	colaseis	colasen
	future1	colare	colares	colare	coláremos	colareis	colaren
imperative		—	tú vos	usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ustedes
	affirmative		colatú colávos	cole	colemos	colad	colen
	negative		no coles	no cole	no colemos	no coléis	no colen

¹Rare; now chiefly used in legal language.
²Argentine and Uruguayan voseo prefers the tuteo-form for the present subjunctive.

    Selected combined forms of colar

These forms are generated automatically and may not actually be used. Pronoun usage varies by region.

		singular			plural
		1st person	2nd person	3rd person	1st person	2nd person	3rd person
with infinitive colar	dative	colarme	colarte	colarle, colarse	colarnos	colaros	colarles, colarse
	accusative	colarme	colarte	colarlo, colarla, colarse	colarnos	colaros	colarlos, colarlas, colarse
with gerund colando	dative	colándome	colándote	colándole, colándose	colándonos	colándoos	colándoles, colándose
	accusative	colándome	colándote	colándolo, colándola, colándose	colándonos	colándoos	colándolos, colándolas, colándose
with informal second-person singular tuteo imperative cola	dative	cólame	cólate	cólale	cólanos	not used	cólales
	accusative	cólame	cólate	cólalo, cólala	cólanos	not used	cólalos, cólalas
with informal second-person singular voseo imperative colá	dative	colame	colate	colale	colanos	not used	colales
	accusative	colame	colate	colalo, colala	colanos	not used	colalos, colalas
with formal second-person singular imperative cole	dative	cóleme	not used	cólele, cólese	cólenos	not used	cóleles
	accusative	cóleme	not used	cólelo, cólela, cólese	cólenos	not used	cólelos, cólelas
with first-person plural imperative colemos	dative	not used	colémoste	colémosle	colémonos	colémoos	colémosles
	accusative	not used	colémoste	colémoslo, colémosla	colémonos	colémoos	colémoslos, colémoslas
with informal second-person plural imperative colad	dative	coladme	not used	coladle	coladnos	colaos	coladles
	accusative	coladme	not used	coladlo, coladla	coladnos	colaos	coladlos, coladlas
with formal second-person plural imperative colen	dative	cólenme	not used	cólenle	cólennos	not used	cólenles, cólense
	accusative	cólenme	not used	cólenlo, cólenla	cólennos	not used	cólenlos, cólenlas, cólense

Further reading

• “colar”, 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