Desaparecer Examples, Sentences and Quiz in Spanish

desaparecer means to disappear, and it is a verb you will meet in everyday Spanish again and again. Desaparecer means to disappear, and it covers a person vanishing, money disappearing from a box and a name dropping off a list. It is the opposite of aparecer, and it is a -cer spelling-change verb like aparecer. This page puts desaparecer to work: twelve example sentences in different tenses and persons, grouped by use, then two short dialogues where the verb appears naturally, then the common mistakes to avoid, and finally a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Every Spanish form on this page comes from the verified conjugation tables for desaparecer, and the full tables are on the desaparecer conjugation page if you need to check a form.

Example sentences

Everyday uses

  1. Yo desaparezco de repente sin dejar rastro. — I disappear suddenly without a trace.
  2. Él desaparece de la lista de invitados. — He/she disappears from the guest list.
  3. Ayer, yo desaparecí el dinero de la caja. — Yesterday, I disappeared the money from the box.
  4. Antes, nosotros desaparecíamos en la niebla del bosque. — Before, we used to disappear in the forest mist.

In other tenses

  1. Mañana, tú desaparecerás de repente sin dejar rastro. — Tomorrow, you will disappear suddenly without a trace.
  2. Yo desaparecería de la lista de invitados. — I would disappear from the guest list.
  3. Él ha desaparecido el dinero de la caja. — He/she has disappeared the money from the box.
  4. Espero que él desaparezca en la niebla del bosque. — I hope he/she disappears in the forest mist.

With other people

  1. Nosotros desaparecemos de repente sin dejar rastro. — We disappear suddenly without a trace.
  2. Vosotros desaparecéis de la lista de invitados. — You all disappear from the guest list.
  3. Antes, ellos desaparecían el dinero de la caja. — Before, they used to disappear the money from the box.
  4. Mañana, él desaparecerá en la niebla del bosque. — Tomorrow, he/she will disappear in the forest mist.

Desaparecer in context

Two short dialogues that use desaparecer the way people really use it. Read them aloud — the verb forms will stick much faster in a conversation than in a table.

Dialogue 1: today and yesterday

  • Ana: "Hola, ¿qué tal?" — "Hello, how are you?"
  • Luis: "Hoy desaparezco de repente sin dejar rastro." — "Today I disappear suddenly without a trace."
  • Ana: "¿Y ayer?" — "And yesterday?"
  • Luis: "Ayer, desaparecí el dinero de la caja." — "Yesterday I disappeared the money from the box."
  • Ana: "¿Y mañana, tú desaparecerás de la lista de invitados?" — "And tomorrow, will you will disappear from the guest list?"
  • Luis: "Sí, claro. Y tú también." — "Yes, of course. And you too."

Dialogue 2: making plans

  • Marta: "Mañana, nosotros desaparecemos en la niebla del bosque." — "Tomorrow we disappear in the forest mist."
  • Carlos: "Perfecto. Yo desaparecería de la lista de invitados si tuviera más tiempo." — "Perfect. I would would disappear from the guest list if I had more time."
  • Marta: "Espero que él desaparezca de repente sin dejar rastro." — "I hope he disappears suddenly without a trace."
  • Carlos: "Seguro que sí. Él ya ha desaparecido el dinero de la caja." — "Surely. He has already has disappeared the money from the box."
  • Marta: "Vale, nos vemos mañana." — "OK, see you tomorrow."

Notice how the same verb changes with the tense: the present for the plan, the conditional for the wish, the subjunctive after espero que, and the present perfect for what has already happened. That is the whole point of learning a verb across its tenses, not just in one form.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo desaparece de repente sin dejar rastro. — Right: Yo desaparezco de repente sin dejar rastro. — The person matters: desaparece is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is desaparezco. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
  2. Wrong: Yo desapareco de la lista de invitados. — Right: Yo desaparezco de la lista de invitados. — In the present, the correct first-person form is desaparezco, not desapareco. desaparecer is a spelling-change verb: c becomes zc before o and a, so the written form changes to keep the same sound. The regular-looking form is wrong.
  3. Wrong: Treating desaparecer and aparecer as identical in every context. — Right: Desaparecer means to disappear, while aparecer means to appear, its opposite. — They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: desaparecer fits sentences such as Desaparezco de repente sin dejar rastro, while aparecer belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy desaparecido de la lista de invitados. — Right: Yo he desaparecido de la lista de invitados. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he desaparecido, has desaparecido, ha desaparecido. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
  5. Wrong: De niño, yo desaparecí el dinero de la caja todos los días. — Right: De niño, yo desaparecía el dinero de la caja todos los días. — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (desaparecía), not the preterite. The preterite (desaparecí) is for one finished action.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on desaparecer: four on the forms, three on the meaning, and three on spotting the correct sentence. Check the answer key below.

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ de repente sin dejar rastro. (present tense) A. desaparezco B. desapareces C. desaparece D. desaparecemos

  2. Complete the sentence: Él ___ de la lista de invitados. (preterite tense) A. desaparecí B. desapareciste C. desaparecimos D. desapareció

  3. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ el dinero de la caja. (future tense) A. desaparecerá B. desapareceremos C. desaparecerás D. desapareceré

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ en la niebla del bosque. (imperfect tense) A. desaparecíais B. desaparecíamos C. desaparecía D. desaparecías

  5. What does "Yo desaparezco de repente sin dejar rastro." mean in English? A. I disappear suddenly without a trace. B. I disappear from the guest list. C. I disappear the money from the box. D. I disappear in the forest mist.

  6. What does "Él desapareció de la lista de invitados." mean in English? A. He/she disappeared suddenly without a trace. B. He/she disappeared the money from the box. C. He/she disappeared in the forest mist. D. He/she disappeared from the guest list.

  7. What does "Nosotros desapareceremos el dinero de la caja." mean in English? A. We will disappear from the guest list. B. We will disappear in the forest mist. C. We will disappear the money from the box. D. We will disappear suddenly without a trace.

  8. Which sentence is correct? A. Yo desapareco de la lista de invitados. B. Yo desaparece de la lista de invitados. C. Yo desaparezco de la lista de invitados.

  9. Which sentence is correct? A. Él desaparecí el dinero de la caja. B. Él desapareció el dinero de la caja. C. Él desaparecieron el dinero de la caja.

  10. Which sentence is correct? A. Espero que yo desaparezca en la niebla del bosque. B. Yo desapareca en la niebla del bosque. C. Yo desaparezca en la niebla del bosque.

Answer key

  1. desaparezco — The yo present form of desaparecer is desaparezco.
  2. desapareció — The el preterite form of desaparecer is desapareció.
  3. desaparecerás — The tu future form of desaparecer is desaparecerás.
  4. desaparecíamos — The nosotros imperfect form of desaparecer is desaparecíamos.
  5. I disappear suddenly without a trace. — The Spanish sentence uses the present form desaparezco, so the English is "I disappear suddenly without a trace." The other options use a different object or situation.
  6. He/she disappeared from the guest list. — The Spanish sentence uses the preterite form desapareció, so the English is "He/she disappeared from the guest list." The other options use a different object or situation.
  7. We will disappear the money from the box. — The Spanish sentence uses the future form desapareceremos, so the English is "We will disappear the money from the box." The other options use a different object or situation.
  8. Yo desaparezco de la lista de invitados. — The correct sentence is "Yo desaparezco de la lista de invitados." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.
  9. Él desapareció el dinero de la caja. — The correct sentence is "Él desapareció el dinero de la caja." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.
  10. Espero que yo desaparezca en la niebla del bosque. — The correct sentence is "Espero que yo desaparezca en la niebla del bosque." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.

Frequently asked questions

What does desaparecer mean, and when do I use it?

Desaparecer means to disappear. Desaparecer means to disappear, and it covers a person vanishing, money disappearing from a box and a name dropping off a list. It is the opposite of aparecer, and it is a -cer spelling-change verb like aparecer. A good first sentence to remember is Yo desaparezco de repente sin dejar rastro. — "I disappear suddenly without a trace."

What is the difference between desaparecer and aparecer?

Desaparecer means to disappear, while aparecer means to appear, its opposite. They appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use desaparecer when you mean to disappear, as in Yo desaparezco de la lista de invitados., and use aparecer for to appear, its opposite.

How do I say "I disappear" in the past?

For one finished action, use the preterite: Yo desaparecí de la lista de invitados.. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: Yo desaparecía el dinero de la caja.. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Yo he desaparecido de la lista de invitados..

How do I practise desaparecer?

Start with the desaparecer conjugation page for the full tables, then the desaparecer in the present tense page for the tense in focus, and use the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure. Spelling change: c becomes zc before o and a, so yo desaparezco and the subjunctive desaparezca.

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