Dejar vs Salir in Spanish (Plus: Parar, Quedar, and Permitir)
Is dejar and salir causing you trouble? They both seem to translate to the English word “to leave,” don’t they?
Ella me dejó.
She left me.
El tren ya salió.
The train already left.
What’s the difference between dejar vs. salir? And what about:
- dejar vs. parar
- dejar vs. quedar, and
- dejar vs. permitir?
So, if these pairs of Spanish words worry you, keep reading to get an instant upgrade on your vocabulary skills.
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Dejar Vs. Salir – The Basics
To compare and contrast these two words, we must first look at each separately. Dejar generally refers to leaving behind a person, a thing, or an activity. Salir, on the other hand, means to leave a place, go somewhere else, or go out.
These are the basics you need to know.
So if you look at the sentences I put at the beginning, they don’t look that confusing anymore.
Ella me dejó.
She left me.
You use dejar because she left behind a person (me).
El tren ya salió.
The train already left.
You use salir because the train already left the station. But of course, the dejar vs. salir topic can go deeper into detail, as these two words can mean many other things too.
Let’s have a closer look.
8 Meanings for Spanish Verb Dejar
Let’s take a look at dejar and how to translate it into English. I’ll also show you how to conjugate it in the most common tenses.
Meaning and Usage of Dejar
There are nine meanings you can give to the Spanish verb dejar. Don’t worry! They’re all related and easy to remember.
1. To Intentionally Leave Something in a Place
You use this verb when you put something somewhere and go away.
Te dejé la comida en la mesa.
I left your food on the table.
Déjame el libro en mi lugar.
Leave the book in my seat.
Puedes dejar tus cosas aquí.
You can leave your things here.
2. To Forget Something Somewhere
You also use dejar to talk about things you left somewhere because you forgot to take them with you.
Dejaste tus apuntes en la sala de juntas.
You left your notes in the meeting room.
Dejé mis llaves en el coche.
I left my keys in the car.
3. To Abandon Something or Someone
Also use dejar if you abandon something or someone.
Los dueños de este perrito lo dejaron en el bosque.
The owners of this little dog left him in the forest.
Mi novia me dejó después de 5 años, ¿lo puedes creer?
My girlfriend left me after 5 years, can you believe it?
4. To Bequeath
You’ll use dejar to talk about when somebody dies and leaves material goods to other people.
Le dejó toda la fortuna a su vecina.
He left all his fortune to his neighbor.
Mis padres no me dejaron nada, tuve que trabajar muy duro para llegar donde estoy.
My parents left me nothing; I had to work very hard to get where I am.
5. To Leave Something or Someone in a Certain Condition (Dejar Durmiendo, Dejar Funcionando)
When you use the verb dejar together with a gerund, it means to leave something or someone in a specific condition, state or doing something.
Learn more: Spanish Gerunds: The Ultimate Guide to the Progressive Tense
La dejé durmiendo y salí.
I left her sleeping and went out.
Dejé todo funcionando como debería, no creo que tengas más problemas.
I left everything working as it should; I don’t think you’ll have any more problems.
La dejé trabajando hace 5 minutos, creo que sigue en la oficina.
I left her working 5 minutes ago; I think she’s still in the office.
6. To Drop Someone Somewhere
If you’re giving a ride to someone and plan to leave them in a certain place, use dejar.
Me puedes dejar en la parada de autobús, mi casa está cerca.
You can drop me off at the bus stop; my house is nearby.
Mi amiga me dejó justo en frente del supermercado, no tuve que caminar nada.
My friend dropped me off right in front of the supermarket; I didn’t have to walk at all.
7. To Let Someone Do Something
Use dejar to allow somebody to do something.
No me dejas trabajar.
You don’t let me work.
Déjame terminar.
Let me finish.
8. To Lend Something to Someone
Dejar is also useful when you want someone to loan you something.
¿Me dejas tu coche? Tengo que irme rápido a los correos.
Can you lend me your car? I have to go quickly to the post office.
¿Me podrías dejar tu pluma?, se me acabó la mía y tengo que terminar el ensayo.
Could you lend me your pen? Mine ran out (of ink) and I have to finish my essay.
Conjugation of Dejar
Let’s see how the verb dejar conjugates in present, past, and future tenses. It’s a regular -ar verb that won’t give you headaches.
Present Tense Conjugation Chart: Dejar
Dejar is regular in the first person of the present tense conjugation.
| Spanish | English |
| yo dejo | I leave |
| tú dejas | you leave |
| él, ella, usted deja | he, she, it leaves (formal you leave) |
| nosotros dejamos | we leave |
| ustedes dejan | you leave |
| ellos, ellas dejan | they leave |
Déjalo aquí.
Leave it here.
Ana siempre deja su café en mi escritorio.
Ana always leaves her coffee on my desk.
Preterite Tense Conjugation Chart: Dejar
The verb dejar is also regular in all forms of the Spanish preterite tense.
| Spanish | English |
| yo dejé | I left |
| tú dejaste | you left |
| él, ella, usted dejó | he, she, it left (formal you left) |
| nosotros dejamos | we left |
| ustedes dejaron | you left |
| ellos, ellas dejaron | they left |
Ayer te dejé un mensaje.
Yesterday, I left you a message.
¡Me dejaste!
You left me!
Future Tense Conjugation Chart: Dejar
You’ll be happy to hear that dejar is also regular in all forms of the Spanish future simple tense.
| Spanish | English |
| yo dejaré | I will leave |
| tú dejarás | you will leave |
| él, ella, dejará | he, she, it will leave (formal you will leave) |
| nosotros dejaremos | we will leave |
| ustedes dejarán | you will leave |
| ellos, ellas dejarán | they will leave |
Te dejaré las llaves en el cajón.
I’ll leave you the keys in the drawer.
Dejar – Idioms and Expressions in Spanish
As a bonus, learn some common expressions with the verb dejar.
Dejar de hacer algo
When you add a preposition de to the verb dejar and even another infinitive, you’ll get the expression dejar de hacer algo, which means to stop doing something.
Dejé de comer comida chatarra hace cinco años.
I stopped eating junk food five years ago.
Dejar a alguien plantado
It’s an idiomatic expression that means to stand someone up.
Marco me dejó plantada.
Marco stood me up.
Dejar mucho que desear
This expression means that someone or something is defective, imperfect, lacking much to reach perfection.
Este trabajo tuyo deja mucho que desear.
This work of yours is very poor.
Dejar caer
Dejar caer means to say something with a special intention.
Lo dejó caer como si nada y se fue.
He said it like this and left.
10 Meanings for Spanish Verb Salir
Let’s take a look at salir and how to translate it into English. I’ll also show you how to conjugate it in the most common tenses.
Meaning and Usage of Salir
There are 10 situations when you’ll choose salir vs dejar:
1. To Exit A Place
Use salir if you want to say “to go out from a place.”
Puedes salir por la puerta de atrás.
You can go out through the back door.
No salgan sin paraguas.
Don’t leave without an umbrella.
¡Sal de la alberca ahora mismo!
Get out of the pool right now!
2. To Depart
If you want to say “to leave a place,” use salir, too.
El camión saldrá a las cinco.
The coach will leave at five o’clock.
El tren sale del andén tres.
The train leaves from platform three.
3. To Do Activities Outside the House
Salir also means to go out—to actively spend time out and about.
Hace sol, salgamos.
It’s sunny, let’s go out.
No vamos a salir el viernes, tenemos que estudiar.
We’re not going out on Friday, we have to study.
4. To Date
Salir also means to date someone or go on a date.
Ellos ya llevan años saliendo.
They have been dating for years.
5. To Result
Use salir to mean “to turn out” or “to work out,” as in a result.
No todo siempre sale como uno quisiera.
Not everything always works out the way one would like it to.
6. To Come Into Sight
Salir is also useful to talk about things that come up or rise.
Nos tenemos que levantar temprano para ver salir el sol.
We have to get up early to see the sun rise.
Te salió algo en la cara, déjame ver.
Something showed up on your face, let me see.
7. To Sprout
Salir also means to sprout.
Las semillas de jitomates no deberían tardar en salir.
It should not take long for the tomato seed to come up.
8. To Wash Off
Use salir to mean “to come out” or “to wash off.”
Estas manchas de chocolate no salen con nada.
These chocolate stains do not come out with anything.
9. To Make It Through
Salir also wants to say “to come through” or “to come out” of an incident.
Salieron del accidente ilesos.
They came out of the accident unharmed.
No sé cómo vamos a salir de estos problemas.
I don’t know how we are going to get out of these problems.
Al final siempre salimos.
In the end we always make it through.
10. To Turn Up
When an opportunity appears, use salir (instead of dejar).
Nos salió una oportunidad de trabajar en las oficinas de la ONU.
An opportunity came up to work in the UN offices.
Salir Conjugation
Let’s take a look at the conjugation of the verb salir in present, past, and future tenses. Salir is an -ir verb but with irregularities.
Present Tense Conjugation Chart: Salir
Salir is regular in present tense conjugation.
| Spanish | English |
| yo salgo | I go out |
| tú sales | you go out |
| él, ella, usted sale | he, she, it goes out (formal you go out) |
| nosotros salimos | we go out |
| ustedes salen | you go out |
| ellos, ellas salen | they go out |
Salimos siempre cuando podemos.
We go out whenever we can.
Preterite Tense Conjugation Chart: Salir
The verb salir is regular in all forms of the Spanish preterite tense.
| Spanish | English |
| yo salí | I went out |
| tú saliste | you went out |
| él, ella, usted salió | he, she, it went out (formal you went out) |
| nosotros salimos | we went out |
| ustedes salieron | you went out |
| ellos, ellas salieron | they went out |
La luna salió en todo su esplendor.
The moon rose in all its splendor.
Future Tense Conjugation Chart: Salir
Salir is also irregular in the future simple tense.
| Spanish | English |
| yo saldré | I will go out |
| tú saldrás | you will go out |
| él, ella, saldrá | he, she, it will go out (formal you will go out) |
| nosotros saldremos | we will go out |
| ustedes saldrán | you will go out |
| ellos, ellas saldrán | they will go out |
No te preocupes, algo saldrá.
Don’t worry, something will come up.
Salir – Idioms and Expressions in Spanish
Do you want to learn a couple of expressions with salir?
Salir de abajo
This expression means to make your economical situation much better.
No lo creerás viéndolo ahora, pero salió de abajo.
You won’t believe it looking at him now, but he came out from down below.
Salir a flote
Apart from the literal meaning of rising to the surface, this idiomatic expression also can figuratively mean staying afloat.
Me estaban ahogando las deudas, pero al final, con un poco de ayuda, salimos a flote.
was drowning in debt, but in the end, with a little help, we managed to stay afloat.
Dejar vs Parar, Quedar, Permitir
There are some verbs that can cause some confusion when contrasted with dejar—specifically: parar, quedar, and permitir.
Let’s have a closer look and clear up your doubts.
Dejar vs Parar
Parar means to halt, block, or cease. The confusion arises between dejar and parar when the preposition de is used. Parar does not mean the same thing as dejar, however parar de and dejar de do mean the same thing.
- Parar ≠ dejar
- Parar de = dejar de
Me paró la policía en la calle. (stopped)
The police stopped me on the street.
Me dejó la policía en la calle. (left)
The police left me on the street.
Para de jugar. (stop, quit)
Quit playing.
Deja de bromear. (stop, quit)
Quit joking around.
Dejar vs Quedar
This confusion is easy to clear up! Dejar is a transitive verb (it has an acting agent) meaning “to leave something,” while quedar is an intransitive verb (the agent is being acted upon) meaning “to be left” or “to remain.”
Dejaste la leche fuera de la refri.
You left the milk out of the fridge. (an acting agent left the milk out)
Quedó bastante pollo para alimentar a los perros.
Enough chicken was left over to feed the dogs. (extra chicken remained as leftovers)
Dejar vs Permitir
Dejar and permitir both mean “to allow” and “to let” but permitir is a more formal word.
En el hospital no se permite hacer ruido.
Noise is not allowed in the hospital.
Mi mamá no me deja hacer ruido después de las 8.
My mom doesn’t let me make noise after 8 o’clock.
Dejar vs. Salir – Multiple-Choice Quiz
Ready to check if you remember it all? There’s one correct option for each question.
- El avión ________ de las nubes.
- salió
- dejó
- _______ de preocuparte, todo ________ bien.
- Deja… saldrá
- Sale…dejará
- Las ventanas de mi casa ________ al mar.
- salen
- dejan
- Ella me ________.
- dejó
- salió
- Mi papá me ________ mucho dinero.
- dejó
- salió
- ¿Por qué no ________ estas manchas?
- dejan
- salen
- Me puedes ________ en la esquina.
- salir
- dejar
- No me ________ trabajar.
- sales
- dejas
- ________ de la oficina.
- Dejémos
- Salgamos
- No me ________ bien.
- dejaste
- sale
Keep Practicing Dejar vs Salir
Great job! I’m sure you’re motivated right now to keep learning.
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Answer Key to Quiz
- salió
- Deja… saldrá
- salen
- dejó
- dejó
- salen
- dejar
- dejas
- Salgamos
- sale
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