Close in Spanish: Cerrar, Cerré and Cierra Explained

Quick answer: “To close” in Spanish is cerrar. Cerré means “I closed” (past tense), and cierra means “he/she closes” or “close it!” (a command to tú). If you mean “close” as in near, the word is cerca: La tienda está cerca – The store is close.

Lots of people search for cerré or cierra after seeing them on a sign, in a text or in a song. This guide explains every common form of cerrar, why it changes from cerr- to cierr-, and how to say close-related phrases like “closed,” “close the door,” “we’re closed” and “close to.” There’s a short quiz at the end.

Close in Spanish: the short version

Spanish	English	Example
cerrar	to close, to shut	Tengo que cerrar la tienda. – I have to close the store.
cierro	I close	Siempre cierro con llave. – I always lock up.
cierra	he/she/you (formal) closes; close! (tú command)	¡Cierra la puerta! – Close the door!
cerré	I closed	Cerré la ventana porque hacía frío. – I closed the window because it was cold.
cerró	he/she/you (formal) closed	El banco cerró a las cinco. – The bank closed at five.
cerrado / cerrada	closed	Cerrado los domingos – Closed on Sundays
cerca (de)	close (to), near	Vivo cerca del trabajo. – I live close to work.

What does “cerré” mean?

Cerré is the yo form of cerrar in the preterite (simple past). It means “I closed” or “I shut.” Always write the accent on the final é: cerre without it is just a typo. Don’t mix it up with cierre, which is the formal command (Cierre la puerta), the subjunctive (Quiere que yo cierre) or the noun “closing / zipper.”

• Cerré la puerta con llave. – I locked the door.
• Ayer cerré mi cuenta de banco. – Yesterday I closed my bank account.
• Cerré los ojos y me dormí. – I closed my eyes and fell asleep.

What does “cierra” mean?

Cierra has two common uses:

1. Present tense, él / ella / usted: La farmacia cierra a las nueve. – The pharmacy closes at nine.
2. Informal command (tú): ¡Cierra la ventana, por favor! – Close the window, please!

The formal command is cierre (Cierre la puerta, por favor), and the plural is cierren.

Cerrar conjugation (stem change e → ie)

Cerrar is a stem-changing verb. In the present tense the e becomes ie in every form except nosotros and vosotros. The preterite is regular.

Pronoun	Present	Preterite (past)	Command
yo	cierro	cerré	–
tú	cierras	cerraste	¡cierra!
él / ella / usted	cierra	cerró	¡cierre!
nosotros	cerramos	cerramos	¡cerremos!
vosotros	cerráis	cerrasteis	¡cerrad!
ellos / ustedes	cierran	cerraron	¡cierren!

For the imperfect, future, subjunctive and more, see our full cerrar conjugation guide or the Spanish verb conjugator.

“Closed” in Spanish: cerrado vs cerrada

Cerrado is the past participle. As an adjective it agrees with the noun:

• El restaurante está cerrado. – The restaurant is closed.
• La puerta está cerrada. – The door is closed.
• Las tiendas están cerradas. – The stores are closed.
• Hemos cerrado por hoy. – We’ve closed for the day.

On signs you’ll see Abierto (Open) and Cerrado (Closed), and sometimes Cerrado por vacaciones (Closed for vacation).

Close as “near”: cerca, cercano, de cerca

English	Spanish	Example
close (to), near	cerca (de)	El hotel está cerca de la playa. – The hotel is close to the beach.
close, nearby (adjective)	cercano / cercana	el hospital más cercano – the closest hospital
a close friend	un amigo cercano / una amiga íntima	Es una amiga muy cercana. – She’s a very close friend.
up close	de cerca	Míralo de cerca. – Look at it up close.
That was close!	¡Por poco! / ¡Casi!	¡Por poco nos chocamos! – We almost crashed!

Other ways to say “close” in Spanish

• Cerrar con llave – to lock (literally “close with a key”)
• Cerrar sesión – to log out / sign out
• Cerrar un trato – to close a deal
• Clausurar – to close officially (an event, or a business shut down by authorities)
• El cierre – the closing, or a zipper (Súbete el cierre – Zip up)
• Hora de cierre – closing time
• Apagar – to close an app or turn off a device (Apaga la computadora)

Common mistakes

• ✗ Yo cerro la puerta → ✓ Yo cierro la puerta. Don’t forget the e → ie change in the present.
• ✗ Yo cierré → ✓ Yo cerré. The preterite has no stem change.
• ✗ El hotel está cerrado de la playa → ✓ El hotel está cerca de la playa. “Close to” is cerca de, not cerrado.
• ✗ La tienda es cerrada → ✓ La tienda está cerrada. Use estar for open/closed.

Quick quiz: cerrar

Fill in the blank with the correct form.

1. La biblioteca ______ (cerrar) a las ocho todos los días.
2. Ayer yo ______ (cerrar) la oficina temprano.
3. ¡______ (tú, cerrar) la puerta, por favor!
4. Los bancos están ______ (closed) hoy.
5. Mi casa está muy ______ (close) de la escuela.

Show answers

1. cierra
2. cerré
3. Cierra
4. cerrados
5. cerca

Keep practicing

Cerrar follows the same e → ie pattern as pensar, empezar and entender. Learn them together and you’ll recognize the pattern everywhere.