alejándose
/alexandose/from spelling rules
The English phrase 'drifting away' is translated into Spanish as alejándose.
To convey the idea of physically or emotionally distancing oneself, one would use the verb alejarse.
How does it change in a sentence?
The infinitive form of this phrase is alejarse. In the third-person singular present indicative, use se aleja to say 'he/she/it drifts away' and use the preterite form se alejó to say 'he/she/it drifted away'.
How do you pronounce it?
/alexandose/
Did you know?
- When talking about a person's mind 'drifting away' during a lecture, Spanish speakers often use the phrase distraerse rather than a word for 'drifting', as 'drifting' is rarely used metaphorically for attention.
- To describe a ship drifting away due to currents, a speaker might use irse a la deriva instead of alejándose. This specific idiom captures the helplessness of being 'at the mercy' of the water.
- If you use alejarse to describe a person's behavior in a relationship, it can sound much more permanent and cold in Spanish than the English 'drifting away' might suggest.
Examples in context
- Parece que nos estamos alejando cada vez másIt seems we are drifting away more and more
- Con el tiempo, nuestros intereses nos llevaron a distanciarnosOver time, our interests led us to drift apart
- Con el paso del tiempo, fuimos perdiendo el contactoWith the passage of time, we drifted away
- Con el tiempo, nuestra relación empezó a enfriarseOver time, our relationship started to drift apart
- Hace tiempo que no hablo con mi amiga de la infancia, siento que nos estamos alejando cada vez más.It's been a while since I talked to my childhood friend, I feel like we're drifting away more and more.
- Mis hermanos y yo hemos decidido tomarnos un tiempo aparte para no distanciarnos más.My siblings and I have decided to take some time apart not to drift further apart.
- Siento que el bote se está alejándose de la costa.I feel the boat is drifting away from the coast.
- Veo las nubes alejándose en el horizonte.I see the clouds drifting away on the horizon.
Example conversation
Mateo and Lucía are at the beach watching a boat.
- MateoMira ese pequeño barco alejándose.Look at that little boat drifting away.
- LucíaEs verdad, ya casi no se ve.It's true, you can barely see it now.
- MateoEspero que no se pierdan en el mar.I hope they don't get lost at sea.
- LucíaSeguro que saben cómo regresar, Mateo.I'm sure they know how to return, Mateo.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
