I thought sueño meant tired?

Question

I thought sueño meant tired, but now i hear that it means dream and cansado means tired. Is that true? Is that how I would use it in Latin America?

If you want to say you are tired because you had a rough/long day for example, then it would be better for you to use "estoy cansado(a)". But if the case is that you are tired because you want or feel like sleeping then you should use "Tengo sueño". - lalabs, Jul 18, 2013

Answer 1

"Sueño" (dream) comes from the verb "soñar", meaning "to dream". "Cansado,-a" (tired) is the past participle of the verb "cansar", meaning "to tire".

To say "I am tired" you can either say "Estoy cansado,-a" or "Tengo sueño" using the tener expression "tener + sueño".

I can not comment on the regional uses of either one, let's wait for a native to do that.

Other Notes about Soñar: *If you want to say WHAT you dreamed of, use "soñar con". For example: "Sueño con una mejor vida" = "I dream of a better life." DON'T use "de", even though you are saying "dream of". Use "con". Perhaps someone could embellish upon the etymological reasons that "con" is used with this verb.

*Remember that "soñar" uses "ñ". If you forget the tilde, it changes into "sonar", which is a completely different verb meaning "to ring/sound".

Hwoever, one can be tired (because of some exertion) without being sleepy. In Spanish as in in English. - samdie, Feb 25, 2010

Answer 2

That is correct. sueño=Dream/sleepy cansado =Tired

This is how you can use them... Estoy cansado = I'm Tired Tengo sueño=I'm Sleepy (ultimelty leading to a dream)

Sleepy - that right! - 005faa61, Feb 25, 2010

Answer 3

In latin america they use both estoy cansado y tengo sueño but tengo sueño is the more common colloquial phrase. Cheers

Answer 4

sueno means 2 things in espanol, 1.. sueno (s) = dream (s) and the 2nd one if u say tengo sueno means like i wanna slpeep because u are tired.. well hope u got it ..