influir
verbCEFR B2
What does “influir” mean in English?
to influence, to affect
to influence, to affect (influir en — have an effect on how something develops or how someone behaves; always with en)
Example sentences
El entorno familiar influye de manera determinante en el desarrollo cognitivo y emocional de los niños.
The family environment has a decisive influence on children's cognitive and emotional development.
Las redes sociales influyen cada vez más en la percepción que los jóvenes tienen de su propia imagen corporal.
Social media increasingly influences the perception that young people have of their own body image.
Varios factores influyeron en la decisión de trasladar la sede central a otra ciudad.
Several factors influenced the decision to relocate the headquarters to another city.
How to use it
Influir (en) means 'to influence' or 'to have an effect on'. It is intransitive and always takes the preposition en: influir en algo/alguien. Never *influir a or *influir sobre in standard Spanish. The noun is la influencia. Key B2 collocations: influir en la decisión, influir en el comportamiento, factores que influyen en... Don't confuse with afectar (affect — more neutral impact, can be positive or negative) or condicionar (condition/constrain — implies limiting influence).
Common mistake
Influir always takes en — never *influir a or *influir sobre. This is the single most common error. 'Influye en la decisión' (influences the decision), not *'influye la decisión'. The noun form la influencia does not have this restriction: 'la influencia sobre la decisión' is standard.