Why Subir Is More Than "To Go Up"
Subir is the verb of going up: stairs, prices, volume, and files. It is regular, but it works two ways. Without a pronoun it means to climb, raise, or upload, and the reflexive subirse means to get on a bus, a train, or a car.
Learn these six patterns as whole chunks and you will get on, climb, and upload without translating word by word.
Pattern 1: Súbete — "Get in / Get on"
The reflexive subirse plus a is how you board a vehicle. Use it for cars, buses, trains, bikes, and horses, and use bajarse for the opposite. For more on the reflexive pattern, see Reflexive Verbs Chunks.
- Súbete, que nos vamos. — Get in, we're leaving.
- Me subí al autobús equivocado. — I got on the wrong bus.
- ¿Te subes a mi moto? — Do you want to hop on my motorbike?
Chunk to learn:
Súbete / Subirse a + [autobús / coche / tren]
Pattern 2: Subir las escaleras — "To go up the stairs"
Without a pronoun, subir takes the thing you climb. Add al plus the floor for where you are heading, and use por for the way up.
- Subo las escaleras todos los días. — I go up the stairs every day.
- Sube al tercer piso. — Go up to the third floor.
- Subimos la montaña en dos horas. — We climbed the mountain in two hours.
Chunk to learn:
Subir las escaleras / Subir al + [piso] / Subir la montaña
Pattern 3: Han subido los precios — "Prices have gone up"
A staple of small talk about the economy. Subir works for prices, rents, and temperatures, and bajar gives the opposite. For more on prices, see [Pagar] Chunks.
- Han subido los precios. — Prices have gone up.
- El alquiler subió un diez por ciento. — The rent went up ten percent.
- Mañana sube la temperatura. — The temperature rises tomorrow.
Chunk to learn:
Han subido los precios / Subir un + [number] + por ciento
Pattern 4: Subir una foto — "To upload a photo"
Online, subir means to upload: photos, videos, files, and posts. Add a for the platform, and descargar for the opposite.
- Subí una foto a Instagram. — I uploaded a photo to Instagram.
- ¿Puedes subir el archivo? — Can you upload the file?
- Ya subieron el vídeo. — They've already uploaded the video.
Chunk to learn:
Subir + [foto / vídeo / archivo] + a + [platform]
Pattern 5: Sube el volumen — "Turn it up"
Subir raises any setting: volume, heating, the brightness. Its opposite, bajar, lowers it. For more with commands plus pronouns, see Object Pronouns Chunks.
- Sube el volumen, por favor. — Turn up the volume, please.
- ¿Me subes la calefacción? — Could you turn up the heating for me?
- Súbelo un poco más. — Turn it up a bit more.
Chunk to learn:
Sube el volumen / Súbelo un poco más
Pattern 6: Me subieron el sueldo — "They gave me a raise"
With an indirect pronoun, subir becomes something done to you: a raise, a rent hike, or a grade. The plural subieron keeps the company in the background.
- Me subieron el sueldo. — They gave me a raise.
- Nos van a subir el alquiler. — They're going to raise our rent.
- Le subieron la nota al alumno. — They raised the student's grade.
Chunk to learn:
Me subieron el sueldo / Nos suben el alquiler
Subir vs. Subirse
Plain subir is for climbing, raising, and uploading something. Subirse is for getting on something yourself: Me subí al tren. If you ask someone to climb a mountain, use subir; if you ask them to board a train, use subirse. For another verb of going in, see [Entrar] Chunks.
Start with súbete and han subido los precios. You will use both the next time you speak Spanish.
This post is part of the Spanish Chunk Series — a growing collection of chunk patterns for natural Spanish.