soportar
verbCEFR B2
What does “soportar” mean in English?
to bear, to endure
to bear, to endure (to tolerate physical or emotional strain; no lo soporto = I can't stand it)
Example sentences
La estructura metálica está diseñada para soportar pesos de hasta cinco toneladas sin riesgo de colapso.
The metal structure is designed to bear weights of up to five tonnes without risk of collapse.
No sé cómo soporta tantas horas de trabajo sin tomarse un descanso.
I don't know how she can bear so many hours of work without taking a break.
La economía del país difícilmente puede soportar una nueva crisis sin medidas de ajuste estructural.
The country's economy can barely bear another crisis without structural adjustment measures.
How to use it
Soportar (as a translation of 'bear') means 'to bear', 'to endure', or 'to withstand'. It can be used for physical tolerance (soportar un peso — bear a weight) or emotional/social tolerance (no soporto el ruido — I can't stand the noise). It is slightly stronger than aguantar (also 'to put up with') and often carries a hint of suffering. In formal contexts, it refers to structural capacity: 'la viga soporta la carga de tres plantas'. Don't confuse with apoyar (to support, to back — social/political) or sostener (to hold up / maintain — more neutral).
Common mistake
Soportar and tolerar are near-synonyms for 'tolerate/bear', but soportar often carries a more visceral, physical-to-emotional weight while tolerar is more intellectual/deliberate. Also: 'I can't stand him' = 'no lo soporto' — this is one of the most common negative emotional uses of soportar in everyday speech. Don't use soportar to mean 'support' in the political/financial sense — that is apoyar (political) or financiar (financial).