Despedirse Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Spanish
The Spanish verb despedirse means to say goodbye. You can learn its forms from the full despedirse conjugation, but forms on their own are not enough: you need to see the verb in real sentences, in conversation, and in the mistakes people actually make. That is what this page is for. Below you will find example sentences grouped by use, two short dialogues, the common mistakes, a ten-question quiz with explained answers, and answers to the questions learners ask most. One sentence to start: Yo me despido de mis amigos. — "I say goodbye to my friends."
despedirse is reflexive, so watch for the pronoun in every sentence: me, te, se, nos, os, se. The pronoun always matches the person, and it is part of the verb.
Despedirse example sentences
Everyday use — the present tense
- Yo me despido de mis amigos. — "I say goodbye to my friends."
- Tú te despides de mi familia. — "you say goodbye to my family."
- Él se despide en la estación. — "he/she says goodbye at the station."
- Nosotros nos despedimos con un abrazo. — "we say goodbye with a hug."
Talking about the past
- Yo me despedí en la estación. — "I said goodbye at the station."
- Él se despedía con un abrazo. — "he/she used to say goodbye with a hug."
- Nosotros nos despedimos antes de salir. — "we said goodbye before leaving."
Plans and wishes
- Yo me despediré antes de salir. — "I will say goodbye before leaving."
- Tú te despedirías con un beso. — "you would say goodbye with a kiss."
More examples with despedirse
- Me despido de mis amigos en la estación. — "I say goodbye to my friends at the station."
- Mi madre se despide de mi familia con un abrazo. — "My mother says goodbye to my family with a hug."
- Ayer me despedí de mis amigos antes de salir. — "Yesterday I said goodbye to my friends before leaving."
- De niña, me despedía de mi abuela con un beso. — "As a girl, I used to say goodbye to my grandmother with a kiss."
- Mañana me despediré de mis amigos en el aeropuerto. — "Tomorrow I will say goodbye to my friends at the airport."
- Si tuviera más tiempo, me despediría con calma de todos. — "If I had more time, I would say goodbye calmly to everyone."
Despedirse in conversation
Two short dialogues using despedirse naturally. Read them out loud: hearing the verb in a question and an answer is the fastest way to make the forms stick.
Dialogue 1: making plans
María: ¿Tú te despides de mis amigos? Carlos: Sí, yo me despido de mis amigos. ¿Y tú? María: Yo también. ¿Se despide de mi familia? Carlos: Sí, él se despide de mi familia todos los días. María: ¿Y mañana? ¿Tú te despedirás en la estación? Carlos: Sí, mañana yo me despediré en la estación.
In this dialogue María asks Carlos what he does, and then they talk about tomorrow. Notice how the verb changes with the person: te despides for tú, me despido for yo, se despide for él. The future forms at the end (te despedirás, me despediré) show the same verb talking about tomorrow.
Dialogue 2: talking about yesterday
Ana: ¿Tú te despides con un abrazo? Luis: Sí, yo me despido con un abrazo. ¿Y tú? Ana: Yo también. ¿Se despide antes de salir? Luis: Sí, él se despide antes de salir todos los días. Ana: ¿Y ayer? ¿Tú te despediste con un abrazo? Luis: Sí, ayer yo me despedí con un abrazo.
Here Ana asks Luis about yesterday, so the answers use the preterite: me despedí for yo, te despediste for tú. The preterite is the right choice because yesterday is finished; the present would describe a habit instead.
Common mistakes with despedirse in the present
These are the errors learners actually make with this verb. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why it is wrong.
1. Yo despido de mis amigos.
Wrong: Yo despido de mis amigos.
Right: Yo me despido de mis amigos.
Despedirse is reflexive. Despido on its own means to fire someone from a job, a completely different meaning.
2. Me despido mis amigos.
Wrong: Me despido mis amigos.
Right: Me despido de mis amigos.
Saying goodbye to someone needs the preposition de: me despido de mis amigos.
3. Confusing despedirse with saludar
Wrong: Me despido a mis vecinos.
Right: Saludo a mis vecinos.
Despedirse is saying goodbye when you leave; saludar is greeting when you arrive. Saludos al llegar y me despido al salir.
4. Using the present for a finished past action
Wrong: Ayer yo me despido de mis amigos.
Right: Ayer yo me despedí de mis amigos.
Ayer (yesterday) signals a finished action, so it needs the preterite: me despedí. The present describes what you do now or usually.
5. Dropping the reflexive pronoun
Wrong: Yo despido de mis amigos.
Right: Me despido de mis amigos.
Without the pronoun you are using the non-reflexive verb, which means something else. The pronoun is part of despedirse.
Quiz: despedirse in use
Ten questions across five tenses. Choose the right form for each sentence, then check the answers at the end of this section.
- Tú ___ de mis amigos (present)
- a) te despides
- b) me despido
- c) se despide
- d) nos despedimos
- Nosotros ___ de mi familia (preterite)
- a) me despedí
- b) te despediste
- c) se despidió
- d) nos despedimos
- Ellos ___ en la estación (imperfect)
- a) te despedías
- b) se despedía
- c) se despedían
- d) me despedía
- Tú ___ con un abrazo (future)
- a) nos despediremos
- b) te despedirás
- c) me despediré
- d) se despedirá
- Nosotros ___ antes de salir (conditional)
- a) nos despediríamos
- b) me despediría
- c) te despedirías
- d) se despediría
- Ellos ___ con un beso (present)
- a) me despido
- b) te despides
- c) se despide
- d) se despiden
- Tú ___ de mis amigos (preterite)
- a) se despidió
- b) nos despedimos
- c) te despediste
- d) me despedí
- Nosotros ___ de mi familia (imperfect)
- a) se despedía
- b) nos despedíamos
- c) me despedía
- d) te despedías
- Ellos ___ en la estación (future)
- a) se despedirán
- b) me despediré
- c) te despedirás
- d) se despedirá
- Tú ___ con un abrazo (conditional)
- a) me despediría
- b) se despediría
- c) nos despediríamos
- d) te despedirías
Answers
- a) te despides — the present form, for tú.
- d) nos despedimos — the preterite form, for nosotros/as.
- c) se despedían — the imperfect form, for ellos/ellas/Uds..
- b) te despedirás — the future form, for tú.
- a) nos despediríamos — the conditional form, for nosotros/as.
- d) se despiden — the present form, for ellos/ellas/Uds..
- c) te despediste — the preterite form, for tú.
- b) nos despedíamos — the imperfect form, for nosotros/as.
- a) se despedirán — the future form, for ellos/ellas/Uds..
- d) te despedirías — the conditional form, for tú.
Frequently asked questions about despedirse
What is the difference between despedir and despedirse?
Despedir means to fire someone from a job: el jefe despide al empleado. Despedirse means to say goodbye: me despido de mis amigos. The pronoun -se changes the meaning completely, so do not mix them up.
Why is it me despido and not me despidio?
Despedirse is an e → i stem-changing verb in the present: me despido, te despides, se despide, se despiden. Nosotros and vosotros keep e: nos despedimos, os despedís. The preterite third person also changes: él se despidió.
What are the gerund and the past participle of despedirse?
The gerund is despidiendo, used with estar for the progressive (estoy despidiendo), and the past participle is despedido, used with haber for the perfect tenses (he despedido).
Where does the reflexive pronoun go?
Before the conjugated verb: Me despido, te despides, se despide. The pronoun always matches the person: me with yo, te with tú, se with él/ella, nos with nosotros, os with vosotros, se with ellos/ellas.
How to remember despedirse
Four small habits will fix despedirse in your memory. First, say the present tense out loud, in order, three times: me despido, te despides, se despide, nos despedimos, os despedís, se despiden. Saying the forms is far more effective than reading them silently, because you hear the endings and the stem at the same time. Second, write three sentences about your own life: one about today with the present (me despido), one about yesterday with the preterite (me despedí), and one about tomorrow with the future (me despediré). Personal sentences stick because they are about you, not about a textbook. Third, remember the difference from saludar: Despedirse is saying goodbye when you leave; saludar is greeting when you arrive. Saludos al llegar y me despido al salir. Finally, learn the two key forms by heart: the gerund despidiendo and the past participle despedido. With those two and the present tense, you can already build the progressive (estoy despidiendo) and the present perfect (he despedido), which covers most everyday conversation.
Related pages
- Despedirse conjugation: full tables — every tense of despedirse on one page.
- Despedirse Present tense — the deep dive on despedirse in the present.
- Spanish verbs — the hub for all Spanish verbs on VerbFlow.
- Spanish verb quiz — test yourself on real conjugated forms.
- Conjugation practice — fill-in-the-blank drills with instant feedback.
- Reflexive verb conjugator — reflexive verbs with the right pronoun for every person.