A dream and a ringing sound are different events.

The idea

Soñar con introduces the subject of a dream or an aspiration; sonar means to make a sound.

Patterns to compare
ExpresiónSignificado
soñar contener un sueño sobre algo o desear algo
sonarproducir un sonido

Examples

  • Anoche soñé con un jardín bajo el mar.Last night I dreamed about a garden under the sea.
  • Lucía sueña con viajar por América del Sur.Lucía dreams of travelling around South America.
  • Mis vecinos soñaron con su antigua escuela.My neighbours dreamed about their old school.
  • La campana suena al final de la clase.The bell rings at the end of class.
  • El teléfono sonó durante la cena.The phone rang during dinner.
  • Las hojas suenan cuando sopla el viento.The leaves rustle when the wind blows.

Read-aloud uses a synthetic Spanish voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.

Watch out

Do not omit con before the thing dreamed about, or confuse ñ with n.

Try it yourself

  1. Choose the expression that fits. Esta noche quiero ___ un bosque mágico. (soñar con / sonar)

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    soñar con

    soñar con: the forest is the subject of the dream.

  2. Choose the expression that fits. En unos minutos va a ___ la alarma. (soñar con / sonar)

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    sonar

    sonar: the alarm will make a sound.

  3. Choose the expression that fits. De niña, Marta ___ ser astronauta. (soñaba con / sonaba)

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    soñaba con

    soñaba con: being an astronaut was Marta’s aspiration.

Use it today

Choose the expression that fits each situation.