Desaparèixer means “to disappear, vanish, go missing, cease to be present.” It is normally intransitive: the person, object, trace, custom, or problem that is no longer visible or present is the subject. To say that an agent makes something disappear, Catalan ordinarily uses fer desaparèixer or a more precise transitive verb such as eliminar, esborrar, or amagar.
The verb follows its base aparèixer: desaparec – desapareixia – desapareguí – desapareixeré – desaparegui – desaparegués – desaparegut. The written accent belongs to the stem-stressed infinitive desaparèixer; future desapareixeré and conditional desapareixeria are stressed on their endings and therefore have no accent on the stem.
Nonfinite forms
| Form | Catalan | English guide |
|---|---|---|
| Infinitive | desaparèixer | to disappear / go missing |
| Perfect infinitive | haver desaparegut | to have disappeared |
| Gerund | desapareixent | disappearing / fading away |
| Perfect gerund | havent desaparegut | having disappeared |
| Participle | desaparegut; desapareguda, desapareguts, desaparegudes | disappeared / missing |
Use desapareixent, not desapareguent. In compound tenses, desaparegut stays invariable: les claus han desaparegut. The agreeing forms are adjectives or nouns: una persona desapareguda; la recerca dels desapareguts. With people, adjectival desaparegut/da often has the serious institutional meaning “missing.”
Indicative: simple and periphrastic tenses
| Tense | jo | tu | ell / ella / vostè | nosaltres | vosaltres | ells / elles / vostès |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present | desaparec | desapareixes | desapareix | desapareixem | desapareixeu | desapareixen |
| Imperfect | desapareixia | desapareixies | desapareixia | desapareixíem | desapareixíeu | desapareixien |
| Periphrastic past | vaig desaparèixer | vas desaparèixer | va desaparèixer | vam desaparèixer | vau desaparèixer | van desaparèixer |
| Simple past | desapareguí | desaparegueres | desaparegué | desapareguérem | desapareguéreu | desaparegueren |
| Future | desapareixeré | desapareixeràs | desapareixerà | desapareixerem | desapareixereu | desapareixeran |
| Conditional | desapareixeria | desapareixeries | desapareixeria | desapareixeríem | desapareixeríeu | desapareixerien |
The formal Central first-person form is the velar desaparec. Informal Central speech also has the established analogical variants desapareixo and present subjunctive desapareixi, desapareixis...; they are register variants, not forms created by adding a second -eix-. The periphrastic past is the ordinary conversational completed past. The simple past desapareguí... is mostly (formal/literary) in Central use, although it remains productive in regional spoken systems.
Cada tardor desapareixen les orenetes i tornen quan arriba el bon temps.
Every autumn the swallows disappear and return when the warm weather arrives.
La carpeta va desaparèixer de la taula mentre érem a dinar.
The folder disappeared from the table while we were at lunch.
A mesura que avançava la tarda, la boira desapareixia de la vall.
As the afternoon went on, the fog was disappearing from the valley.
Sense manteniment, aquests camins desapareixeran sota la vegetació.
Without maintenance, these paths will disappear beneath the vegetation.
Indicative compound tenses
| Tense | jo | tu | ell / ella / vostè | nosaltres | vosaltres | ells / elles / vostès |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present perfect | he desaparegut | has desaparegut | ha desaparegut | hem desaparegut | heu desaparegut | han desaparegut |
| Pluperfect | havia desaparegut | havies desaparegut | havia desaparegut | havíem desaparegut | havíeu desaparegut | havien desaparegut |
| Past anterior | haguí desaparegut | hagueres desaparegut | hagué desaparegut | haguérem desaparegut | haguéreu desaparegut | hagueren desaparegut |
| Future perfect | hauré desaparegut | hauràs desaparegut | haurà desaparegut | haurem desaparegut | haureu desaparegut | hauran desaparegut |
| Conditional perfect | hauria desaparegut | hauries desaparegut | hauria desaparegut | hauríem desaparegut | hauríeu desaparegut | haurien desaparegut |
All perfect forms use haver, never reflexive se and never auxiliary ser. The past anterior is (formal/literary); the periphrastic anterior is vaig/vas/va/vam/vau/van haver desaparegut.
M'han desaparegut vint euros de la cartera i no sé quan.
Twenty euros have gone missing from my wallet, and I don't know when.
Quan van arribar els bombers, el fum ja havia desaparegut gairebé del tot.
When the firefighters arrived, the smoke had almost completely disappeared.
Subjunctive and imperative
| Tense | jo | tu | ell / ella / vostè | nosaltres | vosaltres | ells / elles / vostès |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present | desaparegui | desapareguis | desaparegui | desapareguem | desaparegueu | desapareguin |
| Imperfect | desaparegués | desapareguessis | desaparegués | desapareguéssim | desapareguéssiu | desapareguessin |
| Present perfect | hagi desaparegut | hagis desaparegut | hagi desaparegut | hàgim desaparegut | hàgiu desaparegut | hagin desaparegut |
| Pluperfect | hagués desaparegut | haguessis desaparegut | hagués desaparegut | haguéssim desaparegut | haguéssiu desaparegut | haguessin desaparegut |
| Addressee | Affirmative | Negative |
|---|---|---|
| tu | desapareix | no desapareguis |
| vostè | desaparegui | no desaparegui |
| nosaltres | desapareguem | no desapareguem |
| vosaltres | desapareixeu | no desaparegueu |
| vostès | desapareguin | no desapareguin |
Imperatives are possible but semantically marked. Desapareix! can be a hostile (informal) order meaning “Get lost!”; metaphorical commands also occur in advertising and fiction. Three restricted periphrastic series complete the paradigm:
| Periphrastic tense | jo | tu | ell / ella / vostè | nosaltres | vosaltres | ells / elles / vostès |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indicative past anterior | vaig haver desaparegut | vas haver desaparegut | va haver desaparegut | vam haver desaparegut | vau haver desaparegut | van haver desaparegut |
| Subjunctive past | vagi desaparèixer | vagis desaparèixer | vagi desaparèixer | vàgim desaparèixer | vàgiu desaparèixer | vagin desaparèixer |
| Subjunctive past anterior | vagi haver desaparegut | vagis haver desaparegut | vagi haver desaparegut | vàgim haver desaparegut | vàgiu haver desaparegut | vagin haver desaparegut |
The subjunctive rows are (very rare/formal); ordinary Central conversation normally uses desaparegués or hagués desaparegut instead.
Temo que desapareguin més comerços si apugen els lloguers una altra vegada.
I'm afraid more shops will disappear if rents go up again.
Si no haguessin desaparegut els registres, ara sabríem qui hi vivia.
If the records had not disappeared, we would now know who lived there.
Complements, weak pronouns, and caused disappearance
The usual source complement is desaparèixer de: desaparèixer del mapa, de la vista, de casa, d'una llista. The source can be replaced by en, particularly when it is already active in the discourse. A location in which something vanishes may instead take a or en and be represented by hi.
Del magatzem n'han desaparegut tres ordinadors durant el cap de setmana.
Three computers have disappeared from the warehouse over the weekend.
Characteristic collocations include desaparèixer sense deixar rastre, desaparèixer del mapa, desaparèixer de la circulació, and fer desaparèixer. The last construction is crucial: English occasionally uses “disappear” transitively, but Catalan makes causation explicit.
Una capa de pintura no farà desaparèixer les esquerdes de la paret.
A coat of paint won't make the cracks in the wall disappear.
Do not confuse desaparèixer with perdre's, which can mean get lost, or with esvair-se, often used when smoke, doubt, hope, or an impression dissipates. A missing hiker ha desaparegut if their whereabouts are unknown; s'ha perdut focuses on their losing the way. Ordinary desaparèixer is nonpronominal: s'ha desaparegut is not the standard perfect.
(Regional: Valencian) uses infinitive desaparéixer, present subjunctive desaparega, desaparegues, desaparega, desapareguem, desaparegueu, desapareguen, and imperfect desapareguera.... Central desaparèixer / desaparegui / desaparegués is the teaching baseline. These are systematic regional standards, not random replacements.
Common Mistakes
❌ La taca desapareixeix quan la rentes amb aigua freda.
Incorrect—desaparèixer is not an incoative verb and does not add another -eix-.
✅ La taca desapareix quan la rentes amb aigua freda.
The stain disappears when you wash it in cold water.
❌ Les fotografies s'han desaparegut de l'àlbum.
Incorrect—ordinary desaparèixer is not pronominal.
✅ Les fotografies han desaparegut de l'àlbum.
The photographs have disappeared from the album.
❌ L'antic camí ha desapareguit sota els esbarzers.
Incorrect—the participle is desaparegut.
✅ L'antic camí ha desaparegut sota els esbarzers.
The old path has disappeared beneath the brambles.
❌ L'empresa desapareixerà les dades quan tanqui el compte.
Incorrect—desaparèixer is intransitive; an agent makes or causes something to disappear.
✅ L'empresa farà desaparèixer les dades quan tanqui el compte.
The company will make the data disappear when it closes the account.
❌ Ningú no sap per què va desaparèixer a la llista final.
Incorrect for removal from a source set—the characteristic preposition is de.
✅ Ningú no sap per què va desaparèixer de la llista final.
Nobody knows why he disappeared from the final list.
Key Takeaways
Use the stem family desaparec, desapareix-, desaparegu-, desapareixer- and desaparegut. The verb is normally intransitive and nonpronominal. Mark a source with de or partitive en, and express an external agent with fer desaparèixer. Keep the distinction between a person who ha desaparegut and one who s'ha perdut.
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