tener razón
verbCEFR B1
What does “tener razón” mean in English?
to be right
to be right (tener razón — possession idiom; negative: no tener razón = to be wrong; tener razón en + infinitive = to be right to do)
Example sentences
Tenías razón cuando dijiste que el proyecto era demasiado ambicioso para el tiempo que teníamos; debí escucharte antes.
You were right when you said the project was too ambitious for the time we had; I should have listened to you earlier.
El informe tiene razón en señalar que la falta de comunicación fue el principal problema de todo el proceso.
The report is right to point out that the lack of communication was the main problem in the whole process.
No creo que tengas razón en este punto; los datos muestran exactamente lo contrario de lo que estás argumentando.
I don't think you're right on this point; the data shows exactly the opposite of what you're arguing.
How to use it
Tener razón means 'to be right'. In Spanish, being right is a possession (tener, not ser or estar): tienes razón, no tengo razón, el experto tiene razón. The negative no tener razón means 'to be wrong'. The expression is used across all tenses: tenía razón (he was right — imperfect), tuvo razón (he was right on that occasion — preterite), tiene razón (he is right — present). A common contrast: tener razón (about facts or opinions) vs estar equivocado (to be wrong / mistaken — focusing on the error itself).
Common mistake
'To be right' is tener razón, not *ser correcto (which describes a thing being correct) or *estar correcto (which can describe a person's behaviour being correct but not their opinion being right). The most common learner error is '*eres razón' or '*estás razón' — both ungrammatical. Tener is the only verb: always tener razón.