bolsear

Spanish

Etymology

Etymology tree

Ancient Greek βύρσα (búrsa)der.

Late Latin bursa

Spanish bolsa

Proto-Indo-European *-id-

Proto-Indo-European *-yéti

Proto-Indo-European *-idyéti

Proto-Hellenic *-íďďō

Ancient Greek -ῐ́ζω (-ĭ́zō)bor.

Latin -izāre

Spanish -ear

Spanish bolsear

From bolsa (“bag, purse”) + -ear.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bolseˈaɾ/ [bol.seˈaɾ]

• Audio (Costa Rica):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɾ
• Syllabification: bol‧se‧ar

Verb

bolsear (first-person singular present bolseo, first-person singular preterite bolseé, past participle bolseado)

1. (colloquial, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico) to pickpocket

   Synonym: carterear

2. (colloquial, Chile) to sponge, scrounge, mooch

   Synonyms: cafichear, gorronear

Conjugation

    Conjugation of bolsear (See Appendix:Spanish verbs)

infinitive			bolsear
gerund			bolseando
past participle				masculine		feminine
		singular		bolseado		bolseada
		plural		bolseados		bolseadas
		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	bolseo	bolseastú bolseásvos	bolsea	bolseamos	bolseáis	bolsean
	imperfect	bolseaba	bolseabas	bolseaba	bolseábamos	bolseabais	bolseaban
	preterite	bolseé	bolseaste	bolseó	bolseamos	bolseasteis	bolsearon
	future	bolsearé	bolsearás	bolseará	bolsearemos	bolsearéis	bolsearán
	conditional	bolsearía	bolsearías	bolsearía	bolsearíamos	bolsearíais	bolsearían
subjunctive		yo	tú vos	él/ella/ello usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ellos/ellas ustedes
	present	bolsee	bolseestú bolseésvos2	bolsee	bolseemos	bolseéis	bolseen
	imperfect (ra)	bolseara	bolsearas	bolseara	bolseáramos	bolsearais	bolsearan
	imperfect (se)	bolsease	bolseases	bolsease	bolseásemos	bolseaseis	bolseasen
	future1	bolseare	bolseares	bolseare	bolseáremos	bolseareis	bolsearen
imperative		—	tú vos	usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ustedes
	affirmative		bolseatú bolseávos	bolsee	bolseemos	bolsead	bolseen
	negative		no bolsees	no bolsee	no bolseemos	no bolseéis	no bolseen

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

    Selected combined forms of bolsear

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 bolsear	dative	bolsearme	bolsearte	bolsearle, bolsearse	bolsearnos	bolsearos	bolsearles, bolsearse
	accusative	bolsearme	bolsearte	bolsearlo, bolsearla, bolsearse	bolsearnos	bolsearos	bolsearlos, bolsearlas, bolsearse
with gerund bolseando	dative	bolseándome	bolseándote	bolseándole, bolseándose	bolseándonos	bolseándoos	bolseándoles, bolseándose
	accusative	bolseándome	bolseándote	bolseándolo, bolseándola, bolseándose	bolseándonos	bolseándoos	bolseándolos, bolseándolas, bolseándose
with informal second-person singular tuteo imperative bolsea	dative	bolséame	bolséate	bolséale	bolséanos	not used	bolséales
	accusative	bolséame	bolséate	bolséalo, bolséala	bolséanos	not used	bolséalos, bolséalas
with informal second-person singular voseo imperative bolseá	dative	bolseame	bolseate	bolseale	bolseanos	not used	bolseales
	accusative	bolseame	bolseate	bolsealo, bolseala	bolseanos	not used	bolsealos, bolsealas
with formal second-person singular imperative bolsee	dative	bolséeme	not used	bolséele, bolséese	bolséenos	not used	bolséeles
	accusative	bolséeme	not used	bolséelo, bolséela, bolséese	bolséenos	not used	bolséelos, bolséelas
with first-person plural imperative bolseemos	dative	not used	bolseémoste	bolseémosle	bolseémonos	bolseémoos	bolseémosles
	accusative	not used	bolseémoste	bolseémoslo, bolseémosla	bolseémonos	bolseémoos	bolseémoslos, bolseémoslas
with informal second-person plural imperative bolsead	dative	bolseadme	not used	bolseadle	bolseadnos	bolseaos	bolseadles
	accusative	bolseadme	not used	bolseadlo, bolseadla	bolseadnos	bolseaos	bolseadlos, bolseadlas
with formal second-person plural imperative bolseen	dative	bolséenme	not used	bolséenle	bolséennos	not used	bolséenles, bolséense
	accusative	bolséenme	not used	bolséenlo, bolséenla	bolséennos	not used	bolséenlos, bolséenlas, bolséense

Further reading

• “bolsear”, 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
• “bolsear”, in Diccionario de americanismos [Dictionary of Americanisms] (in Spanish), Association of Academies of the Spanish Language [Spanish: Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española], 2010