How To Say ‘We Stayed’ In Spanish

You’ll usually say nos quedamos, and you can swap in travel verbs when you mean “we lodged” at a place.

English “we stayed” can mean two different things: you remained somewhere, or you slept somewhere during a trip. Spanish makes you choose. Once you learn the small set of verbs that carry each meaning, your sentences sound clean and native-like.

This page gives you the core translations, when each one fits, and short practice so you can use them in conversation and writing without second-guessing.

What “We Stayed” Means In Your Sentence

Before you pick a Spanish verb, pin down what “stayed” is doing in English. Ask one question: are you talking about remaining or lodging?

Remaining: You didn’t leave. You chose to stay in one spot, or you stayed behind.
Lodging: You spent the night somewhere: a hotel, a friend’s home, an apartment, a cabin.

Spanish uses different verbs for these two ideas. Mixing them can make the sentence sound odd, like you “remained” in a hotel rather than “lodged” there.

If your meaning is “we remained,” the go-to choice is quedarse. In the simple past, you’ll most often use the preterite: nos quedamos.

If your meaning is “we lodged,” two common choices are alojarse and hospedarse. In the simple past: nos alojamos or nos hospedamos. In many travel contexts, these read like “we stayed (overnight) at…”

Next, you’ll choose a past tense. Spanish has two main past forms that show up with “we stayed”: the preterite (completed event) and the imperfect (ongoing background).

Nos Quedamos Vs. Nos Quedábamos

Nos quedamos tells the stay as a finished move: you decided, you stayed, it’s done.

Nos quedábamos paints the stay as ongoing or habitual: you were in the middle of staying, or you used to stay.

Nos quedamos en casa. We stayed at home (that day/night).
Nos quedábamos en casa los domingos. We used to stay at home on Sundays.

When Lodging Verbs Beat Quedarse

When you’re talking about sleeping somewhere, quedarse can still work, but travel verbs can be clearer, especially in writing. Pick the one that matches your tone:

Alojarse: neutral, common in travel writing.
Hospedarse: often feels a touch more formal; you’ll see it in hotel contexts.
Quedarse: broad, daily; can mean “we stayed” in both senses, so context matters.

Saying ‘We Stayed’ In Spanish For Trips, Visits, And Plans

Here are the most useful patterns you’ll reuse again and again. Each one includes a short note on when it fits.

We Stayed At A Hotel

Use a lodging verb for a clean travel meaning.

Nos alojamos en un hotel cerca del centro.
Nos hospedamos en un hotel cerca del centro.

If you say nos quedamos en un hotel, people will still get it. In travel writing, alojarnos or hospedarnos tends to sound tighter.

We Stayed With Friends Or Family

With people, quedarse is a natural daily pick.

Nos quedamos en casa de mis primos. (We stayed at my cousins’ place.)
Nos quedamos con unos amigos. (We stayed with some friends.)

You can use lodging verbs too, but they can feel a bit stiff with family unless the context is formal.

We Stayed Home

This is the classic quedarse use: remaining at home.

Nos quedamos en casa por la lluvia.
Nos quedamos en casa para descansar.

We Stayed Longer Than Planned

Spanish often uses quedarse plus a time phrase.

Nos quedamos dos días más. We stayed two more days.
Nos quedamos hasta el lunes. We stayed until Monday.

We Stayed Behind

Use quedarse with atrás or a phrase that marks “not going.”

Nos quedamos atrás para ayudar.
Ellos se fueron y nosotros nos quedamos.

Plain Conjugation Refresher You’ll Actually Use

You don’t need a full verb chart to speak well. You need the forms that show up in your sentences. Here are the “we” forms for the three verbs you’ll meet most.

Quedarse (To Stay, To Remain)

Preterite:nos quedamos
Imperfect:nos quedábamos
Present:nos quedamos (same spelling as preterite; context tells the time)

Alojarse (To Lodge)

Preterite:nos alojamos
Imperfect:nos alojábamos
Present:nos alojamos (same spelling as preterite)

Hospedarse (To Lodge)

Preterite:nos hospedamos
Imperfect:nos hospedábamos
Present:nos hospedamos (same spelling as preterite)

That “same spelling” note matters. If you write nos quedamos, it can be “we stay” or “we stayed.” Time words like ayer, anoche, la semana pasada, or a full story in the past makes it clear.

Pronunciation Notes That Prevent Common Slip-Ups

Say quedamos like “keh-DAH-mos” with the stress on da. In alojamos, the j sounds like a strong ‘h’ at the back of the throat. In hospedamos, the h is silent, so you start on “os.”

Common Mistakes And Clean Fixes

Most errors with “we stayed” come from two places: picking the wrong verb (remain vs lodge) or mixing up preterite and imperfect.

Mistake 1: Using Ser Or Estar

Learners sometimes reach for fuimos or estuvimos. Those mean “we were,” not “we stayed (we didn’t leave).”

Cleaner:Nos quedamos en casa.
Different meaning:Estuvimos en casa. (We were at home.)

Mistake 2: Forgetting The Reflexive Pronoun

Quedar and quedarse aren’t interchangeable. With “stay,” you want the reflexive form.

Better:Nos quedamos.
Not the same:Quedamos. (We agreed / we met up / we arranged.)

Mistake 3: Mixing Past Tense Signals

In a story, keep the past tense steady, then switch only when you want background description.

Finished events:Llegamos tarde y nos quedamos en casa.
Background:Nos quedábamos en casa mientras llovía.

Translation Options At A Glance

Use this table as a chooser. Read the left column, then match the Spanish in the middle to your meaning. The right column tells you when it fits best.

English Intent	Natural Spanish	Best Fit
We stayed (remained) at home	Nos quedamos en casa	Single finished stay
We were staying at home	Nos quedábamos en casa	Ongoing background
We stayed two more days	Nos quedamos dos días más	Extra time added
We stayed until Monday	Nos quedamos hasta el lunes	Clear end point
We stayed at a hotel	Nos alojamos en un hotel	Travel writing
We stayed at a hotel	Nos hospedamos en un hotel	Hotel context, formal tone
We stayed with friends	Nos quedamos con unos amigos	Regular speech
We stayed at my cousin’s place	Nos quedamos en casa de mi primo	Staying at someone’s home
We stayed behind to help	Nos quedamos atrás para ayudar	Not leaving with others

Mini Lessons: Build Your Own Sentence In Minutes

Once you know the verb, the rest is just plug-and-play. Use these building blocks to form your sentence in seconds.

Pattern 1: Place

Nos quedamos + en + place

Nos quedamos en casa.
Nos quedamos en la ciudad.

Pattern 2: Person’s Home

Nos quedamos + en casa de + person

Nos quedamos en casa de Marta.
Nos quedamos en casa de mis abuelos.

Pattern 3: Lodging

Nos alojamos / nos hospedamos + en + lodging

Nos alojamos en un apartamento.
Nos hospedamos en un hostal.

Pattern 4: Time

Nos quedamos + time phrase

Nos quedamos una semana.
Nos quedamos hasta tarde.

Practice Prompts With Answer Checks

Do these out loud. Say the Spanish once, then repeat it a second time a little faster. That second round is where fluency starts to stick.

English Prompt	One Good Spanish Answer	Why It Fits
We stayed at home last night.	Anoche nos quedamos en casa.	Finished event in the past
We were staying at home when it started to rain.	Nos quedábamos en casa cuando empezó a llover.	Background action
We stayed two more nights.	Nos quedamos dos noches más.	Extra time added
We stayed with friends in Madrid.	Nos quedamos con unos amigos en Madrid.	Staying at people’s place
We stayed at a hotel near the beach.	Nos alojamos en un hotel cerca de la playa.	Lodging meaning
We stayed until Monday.	Nos quedamos hasta el lunes.	Clear end point

Self-Check Quiz

Pick the best option. Then check the answer line. If you miss one, read the note again and say the corrected sentence aloud.

1) You mean “we lodged at a hotel.”

A) Nos quedamos en un hotel.
B) Nos alojamos en un hotel.

Answer: B is the clearest lodging meaning. A can work, but it leans on context.

2) You mean “we used to stay at home on Sundays.”

A) Nos quedamos en casa los domingos.
B) Nos quedábamos en casa los domingos.

Answer: B. The imperfect fits a repeated past routine.

3) You mean “we stayed behind.”

A) Nos quedamos atrás.
B) Nos alojamos atrás.

Answer: A. Lodging verbs don’t fit “stayed behind.”

Short Practice Story

Read this mini story out loud, then rewrite it with your own details. It pushes you to pick the verb and past tense that match the meaning.

Ayer llegamos a la costa y nos hospedamos en una casa pequena cerca del puerto. Al dia siguiente no salimos mucho; nos quedamos en la terraza y charlamos hasta tarde. El sabado fuimos al mercado, comimos helado, y nos quedamos a ver el atardecer. El domingo volvimos a casa.

Now try two rewrites: change the trip to a city, and swap one nos quedamos sentence for an imperfect version that shows a habit.

Self Check Before You Hit Send

Remaining or lodging? Pick quedarse for remaining, a lodging verb for sleeping there.
Finished event or background? Preterite for a completed stay, imperfect for a repeated or ongoing stay.
Need a location? Add en + the place: en casa, en Madrid, en el hotel.
Need a time signal? Add one: ayer, anoche, el ano pasado.

One Last Tip For Writing It Right Every Time

When you’re unsure, swap “we stayed” with a clearer English line first. If your meaning is “we remained,” pick nos quedamos or nos quedábamos. If your meaning is “we slept there,” pick nos alojamos or nos hospedamos. That tiny rewrite step keeps your Spanish on track.