salir vs irse

RickyA2Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

salir vs irse

When are irse and salir used? What's the difference?

Thanks

Ricky

Asked 5 years ago
InmaKwiziq team member

Hola Ricky,

They have slightly different meanings. "Irse" normally means "to leave [a place]", for example: 

"Me estaba aburriendo en la fiesta, así que me fui."  (I was getting bored at the party so I left.)

"Bueno, chicos, me voy."  (OK, guys, I'm off.)

And "salir" means "to get out/ to go out", for example:

"Ayer salí con mis amigos." (Yesterday I went out with my friends.)

Sal ahora mismo! (Get out right now!)

Hope this helps

Inma

RickyA2Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Thanks, Inma, but I'm having a hard time telling the difference between 'to get out" and "to leave." Can you help with this?

InmaKwiziq team member

When we use "irse" we generally mean that we are "going for good", it implies no return at least soon. For example: "Estaba harta de la ciudad, así que me fui." (I was fed up with the city so I left.) Using me fui here will imply that you go with no return. However you could say: "Salí de la ciudad unos días para pasar unos días tranquilos en el campo." (I got out of the city for a few days to spend some quiet days in the countryside.) Using salí here implies that it is less definite.

Sometimes they are interchangeable though. For example you could equally say:

"Vete de la clase" (Leave the class) or "Sal de la clase" (Leave the class)

Saludos

Inma

RickyA2Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Gracias, Inma! That helps.

salir vs irse

When are irse and salir used? What's the difference?

Thanks

Ricky

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