The Present Tense of Desaparecer is used to describe actions that are happening right now or that occur habitually. For example, El mago desaparece la moneda. (The magician makes the coin disappear.)

This verb follows the -cer to -zca spelling-changing conjugation pattern, where the ‘c’ changes to ‘zc’ before the vowel endings.

Conjugations

Conjugations of Desaparecer (to disappear) in the Present Tense tense (Castilian Spanish):

Desaparecer generally means to disappear or vanish, but has several different meanings in the Present Tense, some of which might surprise you.

Literal disappearance: For example, El mago desaparece la moneda. (The magician makes the coin disappear.)

To vanish or cease to exist: For example, La nieve desaparece con el calor. (The snow disappears with the heat.)

To leave or go away: For example, Juan desaparece del trabajo sin avisar. (Juan disappears from work without notice.)

To stop being visible or noticeable: For example, Las manchas desaparecen con el detergente. (The stains disappear with the detergent.)

To get rid of something: For example, Desaparezco las pruebas del crimen. (I make the evidence of the crime disappear.)

To ignore or avoid someone (colloquial): For example, Desaparezco a mi ex cuando lo veo. (I disappear or avoid my ex when I see them.)

Examples

Examples of Desaparecer in the Present Tense

Cuando viajo, mi equipaje a veces desaparece en el aeropuerto. (When I travel, my luggage sometimes disappears at the airport.)

¡No puedo encontrar mis llaves! Desaparecen todo el tiempo. (I can’t find my keys! They disappear all the time.)

En esta película de terror, la gente desaparece misteriosamente. (In this horror movie, people mysteriously disappear.)

Los rumores desaparecen tan rápido como aparecen. (Rumors disappear as quickly as they appear.)

En la primavera, la nieve desaparece de las montañas. (In the spring, the snow disappears from the mountains.)

Después de una fiesta, la comida desaparece rápidamente. (After a party, the food disappears quickly.)

Cuando desaparecemos de las redes sociales por un tiempo, nos sentimos más relajados. (When we disappear from social media for a while, we feel more relaxed.)

En el truco de magia, el conejo desaparece de la chistera. (In the magic trick, the rabbit disappears from the hat.)

Las estrellas desaparecen en el cielo de día. (The stars disappear in the daytime sky.)

En la selva, los animales desaparecen rápidamente entre la vegetación. (In the jungle, animals quickly disappear into the vegetation.)

En las grandes ciudades, los edificios antiguos a veces desaparecen para dar paso a nuevos desarrollos. (In big cities, old buildings sometimes disappear to make way for new developments.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Desaparecer (to disappear) in the Present Tense tense (Castilian Spanish) with English Translations:

This post covers Castilian Spanish. For Latin American Spanish, click here

Synonyms

The Present tense is also known as the Simple Present, Present Simple, Present Tense, or Present Indicative in English, and as Presente de Indicativo, Presente Simple, Tiempo Presente, or Indicativo Presente in Spanish.