Sorry! Search is currently unavailable while the database is being updated, it will be back in 5 mins!

The Spanish Verb Dejar: Its Many Meanings and Uses

In caption 8 of his electric press kit, Spanish artist Javier García uses the common Spanish verb dejar with the meaning "to leave": 

 

Tú me quieres dejar, y yo no quiero sufrir

You want to leave me, and I don't want to suffer

Caption 8, Javier García - EPK

 Play Caption
 

However, twelve captions later, we find the imperative form of the very same verb being sung to a different tune:

 

Deja de correr, tranquila 

Stop running, take it easy

Caption 20, Javier García - EPK

 Play Caption

 

How can the same verb mean such different things? Why, context, of course! Let's explore the many meanings and uses of the Spanish verb dejar.

banner4 PLACEHOLDER

Dejar Meaning "To Leave"

One of the most common translations for the Spanish verb dejar is "to leave." However, just like the English verb "to leave," the Spanish verb dejar can describe many different types of "leaving." Let's take a look at several (ten, to be exact!) of the English meanings of the verb "to leave" and learn how to express these same ideas with dejar in Spanish.

 

"To Leave" as in "Abandon" or "Give Up"

The verb dejar in Spanish can mean "to abandon" or "give up" something. Let's take a look:

 

Si yo dejé mi departamento... -Ni se te ocurra.

If I left my apartment... -Don't even think about it.

Caption 14, Muñeca Brava 45 El secreto - Part 6

 Play Caption

 

"To Leave" as in "To Have an Effect"

Another meaning of the Spanish verb dejar is "to leave" something or someone in a particular state, for example, in the sentence La pelicula me dejó sin palabras (The movie left me speechless). Let's see another example: 

 

Esta rumba, yo te digo, que te deja por el suelo 

This rumba, I'm telling you, leaves you on the floor

Captions 1-2, Javier García - La Rumba

 Play Caption
 

"To Leave" as in "To Put" or "Place"

The verb dejar can additionally mean "to leave" in the sense of putting or placing something somewhere:

 

He dejado la bolsa enfrente a un niño. 

I have left the bag in front of a little boy.

Caption 52, María Marí Su pasión por su arte - Part 1

 Play Caption

 

"To Leave" as in "To Forget"

However, since we may not have "put" or "placed" that something in that particular place on purpose, the Spanish verb dejar is often used to say we "forgot" something:

 

¿Dónde dejé mi billetera? -No se preocupe. 

Where did I leave my wallet? -Don't worry about it.

Caption 19, Confidencial: El rey de la estafa Capítulo 3 - Part 5

 Play Caption
 

"To Leave" as in "Allow to Remain"

In English, we can "leave something" in a particular state or location, whether permanently or temporarily, and the Spanish verb dejar expresses this same idea. You might say, Yo voy a dejar mi pelo así (I'm going to leave my hair like this) or the following, both of which could be replaced with "to allow to remain":

 

Deja los garbanzos en el agua hirviendo aproximadamente media hora.

Leave the chickpeas in the boiling water for approximately half an hour.

Captions 65-66, El Aula Azul Receta de garbanzos

 Play Caption

 

To Leave as in "Drop Off"

Dejar in Spanish can also mean to "leave" someone or something somewhere in the sense of "dropping off" that person or thing:

 

¿Pero si me acabas de dejar, no? 

But you just dropped me off, right?

Caption 38, Confidencial: El rey de la estafa Capítulo 2 - Part 7

 Play Caption
 
 

"To Leave" as in "To Leave To"

Yet another meaning of the verb dejar in Spanish is "to leave" as in "bequeathing" someone to someone.

 

tú tenías como algún tipo de auxilio, ¿un... un tipo de pensión que tus padres te dejaron

you had like some kind of help, a... a kind of pension that your parents left you?

Captions 40-41, Tu Voz Estéreo Laura - Part 4

 Play Caption
 
 

"To Leave" as in "Leave Alone" or "Let Be"

On its own or within idioms, the verb dejar in Spanish can mean "to leave alone." Let's  start with an example with just the verb dejar:

 

Déjelo, ¿o le gustaría que le hiciera lo mismo?

Leave him alone, or would you like me to do the same thing to you?

Caption 48, Los Años Maravillosos Capítulo 1 - Part 2

 Play Caption

 

A couple of idioms that also mean to "leave alone" are dejar en paz (literally "leave in peace") or the more literal dejar solo. Let's hear them in context:

 

¿Por qué no me dejás en paz?

Why don't you leave me alone?

Caption 58, Muñeca Brava 8 Trampas - Part 12

 Play Caption

 

Dejame solo, tía. Por favor.

Leave me alone, Auntie. Please.

Caption 24, Muñeca Brava 2 Venganza - Part 5

 Play Caption

 

"To Leave" as in "To Break up With"

The Spanish verb dejar can also mean "to leave" in the sense of "breaking up with," or "walking out on" someone. Let's take a look:

 

¿Qué pasa si la dejo a Andrea? 

What if I leave Andrea?

Caption 104, Muñeca Brava 47 Esperanzas - Part 10

 Play Caption

 

"To Leave" as in "To Let Go" or "Say Goodbye"

And finally (in this section!), you might notice that on the phone, Spanish speakers often say, "Bueno, te dejo" or something similar, which corresponds to the English, "I'll let you go." You might also notice this in many videos from our Yabla Spanish library:

 

de momento aquí os dejo

for now, I'll leave you here.

Caption 54, Amaya La historia de Lukas

 Play Caption

banner2 PLACEHOLDER

Additional Meanings of Dejar

In addition to the plethora of nuanced ways in which the Spanish verb dejar can be used to talk about "leaving," it can also have several additional translations. Let's explore some!

 

Dejar Meaning "To Let," "Permit," or "Allow"

If you wish to give someone permission to do something, you might use the Spanish verb dejar, which can also mean "to let," "permit" or "allow."

 

Siempre me dejaban hacer lo que quise. 

They always allowed me to do whatever I wanted.

Caption 8, Biografía Natalia Oreiro - Part 3

 Play Caption
 

Esperá, no me dejaste terminar.

Wait, you didn't let me finish.

Caption 37, Muñeca Brava 46 Recuperación - Part 7

 Play Caption
 
 

Dejar meaning "To Stop" or "Quit"

Dejar can additionally describe ceasing to do something temporarily or permanently, and the formula for using it in this context is dejar + de + infinitive. This gives us the equivalent of "stopping" or "quitting" an action depicted by the gerund, or "-ing," form in English. Let's take a look. 

 

Pues que este señor dejó de trabajar

Well, this gentleman stopped working.

Caption 17, Málaga Lourdes y la espartería en Mijas Pueblo

 Play Caption

 

Y tú, deja de sonreír, ¡que también es culpa tuya!

And you, quit smiling because it's your fault too!

Caption 37, Extr@: Extra en español Ep. 6: El día de la Primitiva - Part 4

 Play Caption

 

Dejar Meaning "To Lend"

Perhaps a lesser-known meaning of the verb dejar in Spanish is "to lend":

 

Lola, ¿puedes dejarme algo de ropa? 

Lola, can you lend me some clothes?

Caption 9, Extr@: Extra en español Ep. 7: La gemela - Part 3

 Play Caption

 

Dejar Meaning "To Drop"

And finally, the verb dejar in Spanish can also mean "to drop" as in a topic, as in the expression "Déjalo" (Drop it). This is sort of an intersection of dejar meaning "to stop" (talking about something) and "to leave" since "Dejémoslo ahí," for example, can sometimes be translated as "Let's leave it there," as in the following caption:

 

Dejémoslo ahí.

Let's leave it there.

Caption 62, Muñeca Brava 45 El secreto - Part 5

 Play Caption

 

The Reflexive Verb Dejarse

Let's conclude our lesson on the many uses of the Spanish verb dejar by mentioning its reflexive form, dejarse. The reflexive verb dejarse is used in two main ways. 

 

Dejarse Meaning "To Let Oneself Go" 

This not-very-flattering use of the Spanish verb dejar is used to describe someone who neglects their health or appearance.

 

Juan realmente se dejó después de casarse y ha subido más de cincuenta libras. 

Juan really let himself go after getting married and has gained more than fifty pounds. 

 

Dejarse Meaning "To Allow Oneself" (To Do Something)

The reflexive verb dejarse + infinitive is used to describe something one "allows him or herself" to experience, which could be negative or positive and is usually translated with "to be" or "to get" plus an English verb in the past participle (typically ending in -ed or -en). Let's see a couple of examples:

 

no se dejó influenciar por intereses personales, ni por presiones mediáticas en las que se ha visto envuelta últimamente.

she didn't allow herself to be influenced by personal interests or the media pressure she's been embroiled in lately.

Captions 7-8, Confidencial: Asesino al Volante Capítulo 3 - Part 4

 Play Caption

 

Mm... Déjate llevar al paraíso.

Mm... Let yourself get carried away to paradise.

Caption 40, Extr@: Extra en español Ep. 5: Ha nacido una estrella - Part 2

 Play Caption

 

With all of that said, te dejamos por hoy (we'll leave you/say goodbye for today). We hope that this lesson te haya dejado (has left you) with a better understanding of the many meanings of the Spanish verb dejar, and for further explanation and examples, be sure to check out the videos Significados del verbo dejar (Meanings of the Verb Dejar)- Part 1 and Significados del verbo dejar- Part 2. And don't forget to leave us your suggestions and comments.

banner4 PLACEHOLDER

Grammar Verbs

Signup to get Free Spanish Lessons sent by email



The Word Vez... Otra Vez

Notice how singing sensation David Bisbal uses the expression a la vez to express “at the same time”:

 

Es una canción dura pero... pero a la vez gratificante, ¿no?

It is a tough song but... but at the same time rewarding, right?

Caption 32, David Bisbal - Haciendo Premonición Live

 Play Caption

 

BANNER PLACEHOLDER

Don’t mix up this word with a veces, which means “at times,” “occasionally”, or “sometimes.” Dany, our Venezuelan chef, demonstrates perfectly:

 

Entonces a veces habrá que voltearla

So, sometimes it would be necessary to flip it

un par de veces más antes de terminarla.

a couple of times more before finishing it.

Caption 44, Dany - Arepas

 Play Caption
 
In the biography of Muñeca Brava's star Natalia Oreiro, we encounter the phrase de vez en cuando, which means “from time to time” or “once in a while.”
 

Quieras o no, era un sueldito

Like it or not, it was a little wage

que de vez en cuando venía bien.

that from time to time came in handy.

Captions 55-56, Biografía - Natalia Oreiro

 Play Caption

 

Una vez means "once", dos veces means "twice", tres veces means "three times"... etc. You hear an example when Bárbara Muñoz sings Miénteme:
 

Miénteme una vez

Lie to me once

Caption 13, Bárbara Muñoz - Miénteme

 Play Caption
 
As fans of our popular Telenovela, Muñeca Brava, will know, de una vez means “at once”:
 

¿Por qué no te acostás de una vez y apagás la luz?

Why don't you get in bed at once and turn off the light?

Caption 35, Muñeca Brava - 18 - La Apuesta

 Play Caption

 

If you add por todas (or para siempre), the meaning changes to “once and for all.” This becomes evident when you watch our other popular Telenovela, Yago (Pasion Morena):

 

No, uh, no, no, este, quiero a ver si me entendés de una vez por todas.

No, oh, no, no, um, I want to see if you understand me once and for all.

Caption 51, Yago - 2 El puma

 Play Caption

 

Do you find these lesson useful? We suggest you keep them at hand la próxima vez (the next time) you put your Spanish to use.

BANNER PLACEHOLDER

_______________________
 
Further reading from our archives:
Una Vez (One more time)
Telling the Tale (Once upon a time) 
Ahora/Ya (Learning “now”)

 

Vocabulary

Casting: A Word as Spanish as English

Entonces siempre hacía de alguna manera castings, lo que hoy llamamos castings.

So somehow he always used to do castings, what we call today castings.

Captions 25-26, Biografía - Natalia Oreiro

 Play Caption

 

BANNER PLACEHOLDER

In this chapter of the life of actress Natalie Oreiro, the English word "casting" or plural "castings" is heard not once, but four times. (Note that casting's "i" follows its Spanish pronunciation rules and is pronounced like a long "e" in English, kind of like "casteeng.") In our Spanish-to-Spanish dictionary, casting (noun) is defined as "selección de personas para actuar en una película, un anuncio publicitario, etc." In other words, it's similar to its Hollywood meaning.

"Casting" is but one of the many English words creeping into Spanish dictionaries these days. In Natalie's native Uruguay, one may go to el shopping (the shopping center, or, mall) to buy un smoking (a smoking jacket) to wear for el casting (the casting call). In each of these cases, the "-ing" word is considered a masculine noun in Spanish, even if it's English equivalent started as an adjective modifying another noun.

 

Porque esos terrenos los vamos a conseguir, y vamos a hacer el shopping ahí.

Because those plots of land, we're going to get them and we're going to build the mall there.

Captions 8-9, Muñeca Brava - 2 Venganza

 Play Caption

 

Vocabulary

Signup to get Free Spanish Lessons sent by email