despegar
/des-peh-GAHR/
to unstick
Despegar: To unstick or peel something off a surface.
despegar(verb)
to unstick
?removing something stuck to a surface
,to peel off
?removing a label or sticker
to detach
?separating two joined things
📝 In Action
Ten cuidado al despegar la etiqueta del regalo.
A2Be careful when peeling the label off the gift.
No puedo despegar estos dos papeles porque tienen pegamento.
A2I can't unstick these two papers because they have glue on them.
💡 Grammar Points
Spelling Change Alert
In the past tense (Preterite) 'yo' form and all special 'wish' forms (Subjunctive), the 'g' changes to 'gu' to keep the hard 'G' sound before the letter 'e'.
❌ Common Pitfalls
Missing the 'u'
Mistake: "yo despegé"
Correction: yo despegué
⭐ Usage Tips
The opposite is easy
If 'pegar' means to stick or glue something, just add 'des-' to make it the opposite: unsticking!
Despegar: To take off into the air.
📝 In Action
El avión despegará con media hora de retraso.
A2The plane will take off with a half-hour delay.
Me pongo nervioso cuando el avión despega.
B1I get nervous when the plane takes off.
Despegar: To take off or achieve sudden success.
despegar(verb)
to take off
?sudden success or progress
,to boom
?an economy or business growing fast
📝 In Action
Su nueva empresa finalmente comenzó a despegar.
B2Her new company finally started to take off.
Las ventas despegaron después de la publicidad.
B2Sales boomed after the advertisement.
🔄 Conjugations
subjunctive
imperfect
present
indicative
preterite
imperfect
present
✏️ Quick Practice
💡 Quick Quiz: despegar
Question 1 of 1
Which sentence uses 'despegar' to mean a business is becoming successful?
📚 More Resources
Frequently Asked Questions
Does 'despegar' always need an object?
Not always! When you peel a sticker, you are 'despegando' something (it needs an object). But when a plane 'despega', it is just doing the action itself.
What is the opposite of 'despegar' for a plane?
The opposite is 'aterrizar', which means 'to land'.