¿te vas?
In Spanish, "are you leaving?" is said as ¿te vas?
This phrase is used to ask if someone is departing from a place. It specifically implies the act of departing or moving away from the current location, rather than just leaving a physical object behind.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase te vas is a literal combination of the reflexive pronoun te (yourself) and the verb vas (you go).
Which one should you use?
¿Se encuentra de salida? is a more specific way to ask if someone is "on your way out?" and ¿Vas a irte? is used to ask if someone "is going to leave?" in an informal context.
How does it change in a sentence?
When speaking to someone formally or to show respect, use the form ¿se va? instead of ¿te vas? If you are asking a group of people if they are leaving, use the plural form ¿se van?
Did you know?
- In some Spanish-speaking cultures, asking ¿te vas? can be a social cue to start a long process of saying goodbye, known as 'the long goodbye', where the actual departure takes much longer than the conversation about leaving.
- In certain regional slangs, a very fast or abrupt way of saying ¿te vas? might be replaced by a phrase like ¿te piras?, using the colloquial verb pirarse to mean 'bolting' or 'splitting'.
- While ¿te vas? means 'are you leaving?', adding the word ya to make ¿ya te vas? often expresses surprise or disappointment that the person is departing so soon.
Examples in context
- Perdón, ¿usted se va ahora?Excuse me, are you leaving now?
- Disculpe, ¿se encuentra de salida?Excuse me, are you on your way out?
- Oye, ¿te vas ahora?Hey, are you leaving now?
- ¿Vas a irte ya?Are you going to leave now?
- ¡Es tarde! ¿Te vas ya?It's late! Are you leaving already?
- Veo que coges las llaves, ¿te vas?I see you're grabbing your keys, are you leaving?
