But here’s the good news: this chameleon of a verb is one of the most useful, high-frequency words you'll learn. Mastering it is a major step toward sounding natural and confident. This guide will eliminate the confusion. We'll break down its core meanings, tackle the dreaded salir vs. irse vs. dejar debate head-on, provide beautiful, clear conjugation charts for the tenses you actually need, and give you everyday examples that stick.
Read on, and let's conquer salir together.
%20(1).jpg "Salir Conjugation Charts")
Salgo del carro
The Ultimate Showdown: Salir vs. Irse vs. Dejar
This is the number one source of fear for learners, so let's address it first. The confusion arises because in English, "to leave" covers all three of these meanings. In Spanish, the choice of verb depends on what or how you are leaving.Think of it this way:
| Verb ..................... | Core Idea | The Question It Answers | English Equivalent | Example |
| Salir | To Exit | From where are you leaving? | To leave/exit a place To get out of a place. | Salgo de la oficina. (I'm leaving the office. Salgo del carro. I´m gettig out of the car.) |
| Irse | To Depart | Where are you going? (Or just that you're gone) | To leave/to get going | Ya me voy. (I'm leaving now./I'm off.) |
| Dejar | To Leave Behind | What or who are you leaving? | To leave something/someone | Dejé mis llaves. (I left my keys.) |
The Mindset Shift You Need:
- Use salir when your focus is on the physical act of exiting a specific, enclosed space (a house, a city, a meeting). The place you are leaving is the most important part of the sentence.
- Use irse when your focus is on the general action of departing or going away. The destination might be implied or unknown, but the point is you are no longer here. It often has a sense of finality for the moment.
- Use dejar when you are leaving an object or a person behind. It requires a direct object. You can't just "dejar." You have to "dejar algo/a alguien."
What Does Salir Really Mean? The 3 Core Uses
Now that we've cleared up the main point of confusion, let's dive into the three primary ways you'll use salir. Understanding these categories will solve 90% of your problems.1. To Leave or To Exit (a specific place)
This is the most direct translation and the one we just discussed. Use salir when you are physically moving out of a defined space. The key is that you are departing from somewhere.This meaning is almost always followed by the preposition de.
Structure: Salir de + [the place]
Common Fear: "Will I sound weird if I just say Salgo?"
Answer: Not necessarily, but it's less common. The context would need to make the place obvious. Saying "Salgo de la casa" is much clearer and more natural than just "Salgo."
Everyday Examples:
- Salgo de la casa a las 8 de la mañana. (I leave the house at 8 AM.)
- ¿A qué hora sales del trabajo hoy? (del is the contraction of de + el) (What time do you leave work today?)
- El tren sale de la estación en cinco minutos. (The train leaves the station in five minutes.
%20(1).jpg "Verb salir conjugation")
- ¡Sal de mi cuarto ahora mismo! (Get out of my room right now!)
2. To Go Out (Socially or on a Date)
This is the fun meaning of salir. It refers to leaving your home for entertainment, recreation, or romance. In English, we say "to go out," and Spanish uses salir in exactly the same way.Structures to Memorize:
Salir con + [person/people] = To go out with someone.
Salir a + [infinitive verb] = To go out to do something.
Salir por + [area/neighborhood] = To go out around an area.
A Key Idiom: "Estar saliendo con alguien" means "to be dating someone" or "to be seeing someone." This is incredibly common.
Everyday Examples:
- Me encanta salir con mis amigos los viernes. (I love to go out with my friends on Fridays.)
- ¿Quieres salir a cenar esta noche? (Do you want to go out to eat dinner tonight?)
- Anoche salimos por el centro de la ciudad. (Last night we went out around the city center.)
- Ana y Juan están saliendo. Se ven muy felices. (Ana and Juan are dating. They look very happy.)
3. To Turn Out, Appear, or Result In
This is the less literal, more abstract usage that can trip learners up. Salir is used to describe the result or outcome of a situation, or how something appears. It’s similar to English phrases like "it came out well," "it turned out blurry," or "to appear in a photo." A great trick is to think of the word "outcome" — if the sentence is about an outcome, salir is often your verb.Common Phrases and Examples:
- Afortunadamente, todo salió bien en la cirugía. (Fortunately, everything turned out well in the surgery.)
- La foto salió movida. (The photo came out blurry.)
- Este pastel siempre me sale delicioso. (This cake always turns out delicious for me.)
- Mi hermano salió en las noticias locales. (My brother appeared on the local news.)
- Me salió muy caro el viaje. (The trip turned out to be very expensive for me.)
- El sol sale por el este. (The sun rises in the east.) - Think of it as the sun "coming out."
If you want more information about irregular verbs, go to
👉 The lesson that explains the stem changes of irregular verbs
How to Conjugate Salir:
Salir is an irregular verb, but don't let that scare you. The main irregularity is in the yo form of the present tense (salgo), and this "g" sound carries over to other tenses, like the subjunctive.Present Tense (El Presente)
Used for current actions, habits, and truths. The yo form is the key one to memorize!| Pronoun | Conjugation | Example Sentence |
| Yo | salgo | Yo salgo a correr por la mañana. (I go out for a run in the morning.) |
| Tú | sales | ¿Tú sales mucho los fines de semana? (Do you go out a lot on weekends?) |
| Él/Ella/Usted | sale | El bus sale ahora. (The bus leaves now.) |
| Nosotros/as | salimos | Nosotros salimos juntos a cenar. (We go out to dinner together.) |
| Vosotros/as | salís | ¿Vosotros salís esta noche? (Are you all going out tonight?) |
| Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes | salen | Ellos salen del cine en este momento. (They are leaving the cinema right now.) |
Preterite Tense (El Pretérito)
Used for completed actions in the past. Great news! Salir is completely regular in the preterite.| Pronoun | Conjugation | Example Sentence |
| Yo | salí | Anoche salí con Marta. (Last night I went out with Marta.) |
| Tú | saliste | Saliste de casa muy temprano. (You left the house very early.) |
| Él/Ella/Usted | salió | La película salió el año pasado. (The movie came out last year.) |
| Nosotros/as | salimos | Salimos de la fiesta a la una de la mañana. (We left the party at 1 AM.) |
| Vosotros/as | salisteis | ¿Por qué salisteis sin mí? (Why did you all leave without me?) |
| Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes | salieron | Ellos salieron de viaje ayer. (They left on a trip yesterday.) |
Imperfect Tense (El Imperfecto)
Used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past ("used to" or "was/were -ing"). Salir is also completely regular in the imperfect.| Pronoun ......................... | Conjugation ........................ | Example Sentence |
| Yo | salía | Cuando era joven, salía a jugar todos los días. (When I was young, I used to go out to play every day.) |
| Tú | salías | Tú siempre salías bien en las fotos. (You always used to come out well in photos.) |
| Él/Ella/ Usted | salía | Él salía del trabajo cuando lo llamé. (He was leaving work when I called him.) |
| Nosotros/ as | salíamos | Antes salíamos mucho más. (We used to go out a lot more before.) |
| Vosotros/ as | salíais | Salíais cada viernes, ¿verdad? (You all used to go out every Friday, right?) |
| Ellos/ Ellas/ Ustedes | salían | Ellos salían de la escuela a las tres. (They used to leave school at three.) |
Future Tense (El Futuro)
Used for what will happen. Salir has an irregular stem in the future tense: saldr-. You simply add the regular future endings to this new stem.| Pronoun | Conjugation ........................ | Example Sentence |
| Yo | saldré | Saldré del trabajo a las 6 en punto. (I will leave work at 6 sharp.) |
| Tú | saldrás | ¿Saldrás con nosotros el sábado? (Will you go out with us on Saturday?) |
| Él/Ella/Usted | saldrá | No te preocupes, todo saldrá bien. (Don't worry, everything will turn out fine.) |
| Nosotros/as | saldremos | Mañana saldremos para la playa. (Tomorrow we will leave for the beach.) |
| Vosotros/as | saldréis | ¿Cuándo saldréis de vacaciones? (When will you all leave for vacation?) |
| Ellos/Ellas/ Ustedes | saldrán | Ellos saldrán en el próximo vuelo. (They will leave on the next flight.) |
Present Subjunctive (El Presente de Subjuntivo)
Used for wishes, doubts, emotions, and hypotheticals. The stem comes from the irregular yo form (salgo), so the stem is salg-.| Pronoun ....................... | Conjugation | Example Sentence |
| Yo | salga | Mi jefe quiere que yo salga tarde hoy. (My boss wants me to leave late today.) |
| Tú | salgas | Espero que salgas bien en el examen. (I hope you do well on the exam.) |
| Él/Ella/ Usted | salga | Dudo que el plan salga perfecto. (I doubt the plan will turn out perfectly.) |
| Nosotros/as | salgamos | ¡Es hora de que salgamos! (It's time for us to leave!) |
| Vosotros/as | salgáis | Os pido que no salgáis por esa puerta. (I'm asking you all not to exit through that door.) |
| Ellos/Ellas/ Ustedes | salgan | Ojalá que ellos salgan a tiempo. (I hope that they leave on time.) |
Final Thoughts: Practice Makes Perfect
The verb salir is a gateway to fluency. It’s woven into the fabric of daily conversation. By understanding its three core meanings—to exit, to go out socially, and to turn out—and by getting comfortable with the crucial difference between salir, irse, and dejar, you can navigate almost any situation with confidence.- Don't try to memorize everything at once. Start small.
- The next time you leave your house, say to yourself, "Salgo de mi casa."
- When you make plans with a friend, ask, "¿Quieres salir?"
When a project at work finishes, think, "Salió bien."
The more you connect the verb to real actions and outcomes, the more it will become second nature. ¡Buena suerte! (Good luck!)
Thank you for reading all the way to the end—I hope this content was helpful to you. Come back soon to Flavors of Spanish Language; you are very important to us.
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