refregar

Catalan

Etymology

Inherited from Latin refricāre.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Northern, Balearic, Central) [rə.fɾəˈɣa]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [re.fɾeˈɣaɾ]
• IPA^(key): (Northwestern) [re.fɾeˈɣa]

Verb

refregar (first-person singular present refrego, first-person singular preterite refreguí, past participle refregat); root stress: (Northern) /e̞/; (Balearic) /ə/; (Central) /ɛ/; (Northwestern, Valencia) /e/

1. to scour, rub hard, scrub
2. to rub again
3. (colloquial, figuratively) to rub in (irritatingly make a point)

Conjugation

    Central Catalan conjugation of refregar (first conjugation, g-gu alternation)

infinitive			refregar
gerund			refregant
past participle				masculine		feminine
		singular		refregat		refregada
		plural		refregats		refregades
person		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		jo	tu	ell/ella vostè	nosaltres nós	vosaltres vós	ells/elles vostès
	present	refrego	refregues	refrega	refreguem	refregueu	refreguen
	imperfect	refregava	refregaves	refregava	refregàvem	refregàveu	refregaven
	future	refregaré	refregaràs	refregarà	refregarem	refregareu	refregaran
	preterite	refreguí	refregares	refregà	refregàrem	refregàreu	refregaren
	conditional	refregaria	refregaries	refregaria	refregaríem	refregaríeu	refregarien
subjunctive		jo	tu	ell/ella vostè	nosaltres nós	vosaltres vós	ells/elles vostès
	present	refregui	refreguis	refregui	refreguem	refregueu	refreguin
	imperfect	refregués	refreguessis	refregués	refreguéssim	refreguéssiu	refreguessin
imperative		—	tu	vostè	nosaltres	vosaltres vós	vostès
	affirmative	—	refrega	refregui	refreguem	refregueu	refreguin
	negative (no)	—	no refreguis	no refregui	no refreguem	no refregueu	no refreguin

Related terms

• fregar

Further reading

• “refregar”, 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
• “refregar”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2026
• “refregar” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• Alcover, Antoni Maria; Moll, Francesc de Borja (1963), “refregar”, in Diccionari català-valencià-balear (in Catalan)

Galician

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Italic *wre-

Latin re-

Proto-Indo-European *bʰreyH-

Proto-Indo-European *bʰriH-o-s

Proto-Italic *frios

Proto-Indo-European *-h₂

Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂

Proto-Indo-European *-yéti

Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti

Proto-Indo-European *-h₂tiinflu.

Proto-Italic *-ājō

Proto-Italic *-āō

Latin -ō

Latin friō

Latin -ic-

▲

Latin -ō

Latin -icō

Latin frico

Latin refricāre

Galician refregar

Inherited from Latin refricāre.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /refɾeˈɣaɾ/

Verb

refregar (first-person singular present refrego, first-person singular preterite refreguei, past participle refregado)

1. to rub

Conjugation

    Conjugation of refregar (g-gu alternation)

	Singular			Plural
	First-person (eu)	Second-person (ti)	Third-person (el / ela / Vde.)	First-person (nós)	Second-person (vós)	Third-person (eles / elas / Vdes.)
Infinitive
Impersonal	refregar
Personal	refregar	refregares	refregar	refregarmos	refregardes	refregaren
Gerund
	refregando
Past participle
Masculine	refregado			refregados
Feminine	refregada			refregadas
Indicative
Present	refrego	refregas	refrega	refregamos	refregades	refregan
Imperfect	refregaba	refregabas	refregaba	refregabamos	refregabades	refregaban
Preterite	refreguei	refregaches	refregou	refregamos	refregastes	refregaron
Pluperfect	refregara	refregaras	refregara	refregaramos	refregarades	refregaran
Future	refregarei	refregarás	refregará	refregaremos	refregaredes	refregarán
Conditional	refregaría	refregarías	refregaría	refregariamos	refregariades	refregarían
Subjunctive
Present	refregue	refregues	refregue	refreguemos	refreguedes	refreguen
Imperfect	refregase	refregases	refregase	refregásemos	refregásedes	refregasen
Future	refregar	refregares	refregar	refregarmos	refregardes	refregaren
Imperative
Affirmative		refrega	refregue	refreguemos	refregade	refreguen
Negative (non)		non refregues	non refregue	non refreguemos	non refreguedes	non refreguen

    Reintegrated conjugation of refregar (g-gu alternation) (See Appendix:Reintegrationism)

	Singular			Plural
	First-person (eu)	Second-person (ti / tu)	Third-person (ele / ela / você)	First-person (nós)	Second-person (vós)	Third-person (eles / elas / vocês)
Infinitive
Impersonal	refregar
Personal	refregar	refregares	refregar	refregarmos	refregardes	refregarem
Gerund
	refregando
Past participle
Masculine	refregado			refregados
Feminine	refregada			refregadas
Indicative
Present	refrego	refregas	refrega	refregamos	refregades, refregais	refregam
Imperfect	refregava	refregavas	refregava	refregávamos	refregávades, refregáveis, refregávais1	refregavam
Preterite	refreguei	refregaste, refregache1	refregou	refregamos	refregastes	refregárom, refregaram
Pluperfect	refregara	refregaras	refregara	refregáramos	refregárades, refregáreis, refregárais1	refregaram
Future	refregarei	refregarás	refregará	refregaremos	refregaredes, refregareis	refregarám, refregarão
Conditional	refregaria	refregarias	refregaria	refregaríamos	refregaríades, refregaríeis, refregaríais1	refregariam
Subjunctive
Present	refregue	refregues	refregue	refreguemos	refreguedes, refregueis	refreguem
Imperfect	refregasse	refregasses	refregasse	refregássemos	refregássedes, refregásseis	refregassem
Future	refregar	refregares	refregar	refregarmos	refregardes	refregarem
Imperative
Affirmative		refrega	refregue	refreguemos	refregade, refregai	refreguem
Negative (nom)		nom refregues	nom refregue	nom refreguemos	nom refreguedes, nom refregueis	nom refreguem

¹Less recommended.

Related terms

• fregar
• esfregar

References

• Antón Santamarina, editor (2006–2013), “refregar”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• “refregar”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2026
• Antón Santamarina, Ernesto X. González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “refregar”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• “refregar”, in Dicionário Estraviz de galego (in Galician), 2014–2026
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “refregar”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

Portuguese

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Italic *wre-

Latin re-

Proto-Indo-European *bʰreyH-

Proto-Indo-European *bʰriH-o-s

Proto-Italic *frios

Proto-Indo-European *-h₂

Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂

Proto-Indo-European *-yéti

Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti

Proto-Indo-European *-h₂tiinflu.

Proto-Italic *-ājō

Proto-Italic *-āō

Latin -ō

Latin friō

Latin -ic-

▲

Latin -ō

Latin -icō

Latin frico

Latin refricāre

Portuguese refregar

Inherited from Latin refricāre.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ʁe.fɾeˈɡa(ʁ)/ [he.fɾeˈɡa(h)]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ʁe.fɾeˈɡa(ʁ)/ [he.fɾeˈɡa(h)]
  • (São Paulo) IPA^(key): /ʁe.fɾeˈɡa(ɾ)/ [he.fɾeˈɡa(ɾ)]
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /ʁe.fɾeˈɡa(ʁ)/ [χe.fɾeˈɡa(χ)]
  • (Caipira) IPA^(key): /ʁe.fɾeˈɡa(ɻ)/ [he.fɾeˈɡa(ɻ)]

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ʁɨ.fɾɨˈɡaɾ/ [ʁɨ.fɾɨˈɣaɾ]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ʁɨ.fɾɨˈɡaɾ/ [ʁɨ.fɾɨˈɣaɾ]
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /ʁɨ.fɾɨˈɡa.ɾi/

Verb

refregar (first-person singular present refrego, first-person singular preterite refreguei, past participle refregado)

1. (intransitive) to fight

Conjugation

    Conjugation of refregar (g-gu alternation) (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	refregar
Personal	refregar	refregares	refregar	refregarmos	refregardes	refregarem
Gerund
	refregando
Past participle
Masculine	refregado			refregados
Feminine	refregada			refregadas
Indicative
Present	refrego	refregas	refrega	refregamos	refregais	refregam
Imperfect	refregava	refregavas	refregava	refregávamos	refregáveis	refregavam
Preterite	refreguei	refregaste	refregou	refregamos1, refregámos2	refregastes	refregaram
Pluperfect	refregara	refregaras	refregara	refregáramos	refregáreis	refregaram
Future	refregarei	refregarás	refregará	refregaremos	refregareis	refregarão
Conditional	refregaria	refregarias	refregaria	refregaríamos	refregaríeis	refregariam
Subjunctive
Present	refregue	refregues	refregue	refreguemos	refregueis	refreguem
Imperfect	refregasse	refregasses	refregasse	refregássemos	refregásseis	refregassem
Future	refregar	refregares	refregar	refregarmos	refregardes	refregarem
Imperative
Affirmative		refrega	refregue	refreguemos	refregai	refreguem
Negative (não)		não refregues	não refregue	não refreguemos	não refregueis	não refreguem

¹Brazilian Portuguese.
²European Portuguese.

References

• “refregar”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “refregar”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026
• “refregar”, in Dicionário Infopédia da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2026

Spanish

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Italic *wre-

Latin re-

Proto-Indo-European *bʰreyH-

Proto-Indo-European *bʰriH-o-s

Proto-Italic *frios

Proto-Indo-European *-h₂

Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂

Proto-Indo-European *-yéti

Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti

Proto-Indo-European *-h₂tiinflu.

Proto-Italic *-ājō

Proto-Italic *-āō

Latin -ō

Latin friō

Latin -ic-

▲

Latin -ō

Latin -icō

Latin frico

Latin refricāreder.

Spanish refregar

Derived from Latin refricāre.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /refɾeˈɡaɾ/ [re.fɾeˈɣ̞aɾ]
• Rhymes: -aɾ
• Syllabification: re‧fre‧gar

Verb

refregar (first-person singular present refriego, first-person singular preterite refregué, past participle refregado)

1. to rub

   refregarse los ojos ― to rub one's eyes

2. to scrub, scour

   Synonym: restregar

3. to harp on, insist on recalling (something unpleasant)

Conjugation

    Conjugation of refregar (e-ie alternation; g-gu alternation) (See Appendix:Spanish verbs)

infinitive			refregar
gerund			refregando
past participle				masculine		feminine
		singular		refregado		refregada
		plural		refregados		refregadas
		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	refriego	refriegastú refregásvos	refriega	refregamos	refregáis	refriegan
	imperfect	refregaba	refregabas	refregaba	refregábamos	refregabais	refregaban
	preterite	refregué	refregaste	refregó	refregamos	refregasteis	refregaron
	future	refregaré	refregarás	refregará	refregaremos	refregaréis	refregarán
	conditional	refregaría	refregarías	refregaría	refregaríamos	refregaríais	refregarían
subjunctive		yo	tú vos	él/ella/ello usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ellos/ellas ustedes
	present	refriegue	refrieguestú refreguésvos2	refriegue	refreguemos	refreguéis	refrieguen
	imperfect (ra)	refregara	refregaras	refregara	refregáramos	refregarais	refregaran
	imperfect (se)	refregase	refregases	refregase	refregásemos	refregaseis	refregasen
	future1	refregare	refregares	refregare	refregáremos	refregareis	refregaren
imperative		—	tú vos	usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ustedes
	affirmative		refriegatú refregávos	refriegue	refreguemos	refregad	refrieguen
	negative		no refriegues	no refriegue	no refreguemos	no refreguéis	no refrieguen

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

    Selected combined forms of refregar (e-ie alternation; g-gu 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 refregar	dative	refregarme	refregarte	refregarle, refregarse	refregarnos	refregaros	refregarles, refregarse
	accusative	refregarme	refregarte	refregarlo, refregarla, refregarse	refregarnos	refregaros	refregarlos, refregarlas, refregarse
with gerund refregando	dative	refregándome	refregándote	refregándole, refregándose	refregándonos	refregándoos	refregándoles, refregándose
	accusative	refregándome	refregándote	refregándolo, refregándola, refregándose	refregándonos	refregándoos	refregándolos, refregándolas, refregándose
with informal second-person singular tuteo imperative refriega	dative	refriégame	refriégate	refriégale	refriéganos	not used	refriégales
	accusative	refriégame	refriégate	refriégalo, refriégala	refriéganos	not used	refriégalos, refriégalas
with informal second-person singular voseo imperative refregá	dative	refregame	refregate	refregale	refreganos	not used	refregales
	accusative	refregame	refregate	refregalo, refregala	refreganos	not used	refregalos, refregalas
with formal second-person singular imperative refriegue	dative	refriégueme	not used	refriéguele, refriéguese	refriéguenos	not used	refriégueles
	accusative	refriégueme	not used	refriéguelo, refriéguela, refriéguese	refriéguenos	not used	refriéguelos, refriéguelas
with first-person plural imperative refreguemos	dative	not used	refreguémoste	refreguémosle	refreguémonos	refreguémoos	refreguémosles
	accusative	not used	refreguémoste	refreguémoslo, refreguémosla	refreguémonos	refreguémoos	refreguémoslos, refreguémoslas
with informal second-person plural imperative refregad	dative	refregadme	not used	refregadle	refregadnos	refregaos	refregadles
	accusative	refregadme	not used	refregadlo, refregadla	refregadnos	refregaos	refregadlos, refregadlas
with formal second-person plural imperative refrieguen	dative	refriéguenme	not used	refriéguenle	refriéguennos	not used	refriéguenles, refriéguense
	accusative	refriéguenme	not used	refriéguenlo, refriéguenla	refriéguennos	not used	refriéguenlos, refriéguenlas, refriéguense

Derived terms

• refriega

Related terms

• fregar
• refregadura
• refregamiento
• refregón

Further reading

• “refregar”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), 24th edition, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 30 October 2026