Welcome to this post about how to say “update” in Spanish, including its synonyms. You can update information or people within your working circle, or you can update software, apps or phones at home. While it is a universal word in the English language, in Spanish there are many terms and phrases that aren’t necessarily exchangeable and do not mean the same thing.

Read ahead to find conversational examples. You can practice these sentences and learn how to say phrases such as “give me an update,” “thank you for the update,” and “any updates yet?” in Spanish. I also include some slang you can use in a business environment.

¡Vamos a ponerte al día!Let’s get you up to date!

Bringing something or someone up to date is a thing we do constantly without giving it too much thought. “Update” in Spanish is any of the following words: 

Although they are considered synonyms, they don’t apply to the same cases: 

The phrase la puesta al día is to update someone, la actualización refers to something specific—like a status or case, and la novedad refers to a general update.

Dame una actualización del estado del proyecto.Give me a status update on the project.

Daré una actualización del caso en la junta.I will give an update on the case at the meeting.

Gracias por la puesta al día, lo necesitaba después de no venir un mes.Thank you for the update, I needed it after not coming for a month.

Ponme al día mañana, hoy tengo mucho trabajo.Give me an update tomorrow, I have a lot of work today..

¿Alguna novedad de los niños que vienen de la escuela alemana?Any update from the kids that come from the German school?

No hay novedades. Lamentablemente nadie ha hablado.No updates. Unfortunately no one has called.

“To update” in Spanish as a verb has many connotations and each applies to different contexts.

Some synonyms in English exist such as “to modernize,” “to renovate,” andto fill in,” which we can use as a guide here. 

Actualizar is a verb in Spanish that means to update something related to work or technology. Here are the 3 most common conjugations for you to keep in mind:

Present simple

Ellos actualizan la presentación antes de entregarla. They update the presentation before delivering it. 

Past Simple

Yo actualicé mi teléfono hace un mes.I updated my phone a month ago.

Future Simple

Usted actualizará el software para no tener problemas.You will update the software to avoid problems.

You can ponerse al día a person, yourself, or a plan. It can translate to “to bring up to date” or help someone “catch up”. This is a reflexive verb, and needs a reflexive pronoun—me, te, se, nos—around it. 

Present simple: Bringing yourself up to date

Nosotros nos ponemos al día todas las mañanas.We update ourselves every morning.

Present Simple: Bringing others up to date

Yo te pongo al día en persona porque es más fácil. I will update you in person because it is easier.

The verb informar is a bit formal and it is best used in professional environments. You can inform your boss or a board in a written or spoken way. Since you or your team will be informing someone else I am including two charts of the present simple tense so you can inform individually or as a group.

Present Simple

Le informo que las ventas de este mes subieron.I inform you that this month’s sales went up.

Present Simple

Por medio de la presente, les informamos que el plan fue un éxito.I hereby inform you that the plan was a success.

Notificar works similarly to informar. The difference is that when you inform someone you are giving details and taking your time. When you notify is a quick important notice.

Present Simple

Te notifico de lo que pasó ayer. I notify you about what happened yesterday.

Present Simple

Nosotros le notificamos a usted siempre que sea necesario.We notify you every time it is necessary.

To renovate a membership, contract, deal, or even trust you either querer (want to), tener que (have to), or necesitar (need to). In this scenario, those verbs are the ones that you conjugate and renovar stays in infinitive.

The same happens with the verb restablecer. You restore a password or a policy.

Present simple: Querer

Si usted quiere renovar su membresía, pase por aquí por favor.If you want to update your membership, please come over here.

Ella quiere restablecer su contraseña, ¿la puedes ayudar?She wants to update her password, can you help her

Present simple: Tener 

Tengo que renovar mi trato con mi jefe antes de que se acabe el mes.  I have to update my deal with my boss before the month is over. 

Tenemos que restablecer la política de privacidad de antes.  We have to update the privacy policy from before.

Present simple: necesitar

Necesito renovar mi contrato de renta pronto o no tendré donde vivir.I need to update my rental agreement soon or I will have no place to live. 

Necesitas restablecer tu contraseña primero, después ya puedes comprar cosas.You have to update your password first, you can buy things afterwards.

What are all the ways to say “updated” in Spanish? The word “updated” is an adjective, meaning that it describes a noun. 

The suffixes -ado (male) and -ada (female) are present in almost all examples, such as:

El campus está modernizado, no se ve viejo.The campus is modernized, it doesn’t look old.

Muéstrame una lista actualizada de los miembros del club, para enviarles saludos.Show me an updated list of the club members, to send them regards.

Con esta firma, el contrato queda renovado, ¡felicidades por quedarse en la compañía!With this signature, the contract is renewed, congratulations for staying at the company.

Mi jefe está puesto al día, así que puedes preguntarle lo que sea.My boss is updated, so you can ask him anything.

Slang words are informal forms of speech that people within a certain group use regularly. A form of slang is called “jargon,” and it relates to a specific field of study or industry. 

In Spanish-speaking business environments, it’s common to hear slang in English: el update. It’s universal and simpler. 

Mándame el update por correo, prefiero leerlo dos veces.Send me the update by email, I would rather read it twice.

The noun el update can even be used as a verb: updatear

Sigue updateando al equipo por favor, yo no tengo tiempo de hacerlo.Continue to update the team please, I don’t have the time to do it.

In the arts community, the word actualizar—which is the closest translation to “update”—means “to bring to life” or “to make real.” 

El artista se dedicó a actualizar la obra después de tenerla por años en la cabeza.The artist dedicated himself to actualizing the piece after having it in his head for years.

I’m sure you learned a lot from this lesson about the word “update” in Spanish. 

And here’s a news update! 

Practice is the most effective way to improve your conversational skills—especially if you empower yourself to talk to a native Spanish speaker. 

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