"Leave" in Spanish is dejar when you leave something or someone behind: dejar la ciudad, dejar el trabajo. When you're the one going away, Spanish uses irse (Me voy, I'm leaving) or salir (salir de casa, to leave the house).
Written by Isabella García, Language Content Manager at WordyUpdated October 4, 2026
Hear "dejar" in real movie scenes
Two people quitting something for good. Each video starts and stops on that line.
Un momento, ya he dejado mi trabajo de policía, Ed,
Hold on, I already quit my job as a cop, Ed.
Dejar here means to quit. What you leave behind for good comes right after it, whether that's a job, a city or tobacco.
From ¿Y dónde está el policía? 33 1/3 · Spanish audio
Ya lo quiero dejar.
I want to give it up now.
This is the line for something you want to put down for good, like cigarettes or drinking. Lo stands in for the habit.
From Uncharted · Spanish audio
Dejar, irse, salir or marcharse?
English uses leave for all of them. Spanish asks what, or who, is staying behind.
Spanish
When to use it
Example
dejar
Leaving something or someone behind, quitting
Dejé las llaves en casa. (I left the keys at home.)
dejar de + verb
Stopping a habit
Dejé de fumar. (I quit smoking.)
irse
Going away from where you are
Me voy. (I'm leaving.)
salir
Going out of a place, departing at a set time
El tren sale a las cinco. (The train leaves at five.)
marcharse
Leaving, heard a lot in Spain
Se marchó sin decir nada. (He left without a word.)
Tip: If you could add "behind" in English, use dejar. If you're the one walking out, use irse or salir.
Grammar: dejar, dejo, he dejado
Four patterns you'll meet again and again.
A regular -ar verb
dejo, dejas, deja, dejamos, dejáis, dejan. In the past, dejé is I left, and Spain often says he dejado for recent news.
Dejar de: stop doing
Put de and a second verb after it to quit a habit: Dejé de fumar.Deja de llorar.
Dejar also means let
Déjame ver. Let me see. Déjalo. Leave it, or let it go. The pronoun attaches to the end of a command.
Leaving by accident
In Spain, me he dejado las llaves means you left your keys behind without meaning to. The extra me shows it was a slip.
Example sentences
Sentences from the Wordy Spanish course. Tap to listen.
He dejado la ciudad.
I've left the city.
Me he dejado las llaves dentro.
I've left my keys inside.
Debiste dejar la isla.
You should have left the island.
Ya lo quiero dejar.
I want to give it up now.
Common mistakes
Mistakes learners make with this word, and how to fix them.
✗Dejo (walking out of a party)
✓Me voy
Dejar needs something to leave behind. To announce that you're going, use irse.
✗Dejé la casa a las ocho (on a normal workday)
✓Salí de casa a las ocho
Walking out the door is salir de. Dejar la casa sounds like you moved out for good.
✗Dejé fumar
✓Dejé de fumar
A habit you quit needs de between dejar and the next verb.
Real conversation: big news
A short dialog with an old acquaintance on the street.
You run into an old acquaintance on the street, and Emilio notices right away that something about you has changed.
E
¡Hola! ¿Qué tal todo?
Hi! How's everything?
You
He dejado el tabaco.
I've quit smoking.
E
¡Enhorabuena! ¿Y estás contento?
Congratulations! And are you happy about it?
You
E
Your turn to answer
In the app you reply in Spanish for the last 2 lines.
Dejar for leaving something or someone behind, and irse or salir when you go away from a place: Dejé el coche aquí.Me voy.
How do you say "I'm leaving" in Spanish?
Me voy. In the past tense, me fui means I left.
What's the difference between dejar and salir?
Dejar takes the thing you leave behind: dejar la ciudad. Salir is about going out of a place: salir del cine.
How do you say "leave me alone" in Spanish?
Déjame en paz. To a group, say Dejadme en paz in Spain or Déjenme en paz in Latin America.
Learn "leave" in Spanish from real movie scenes
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