Sair means to leave, to go out, to come out — physically exiting a place, but also going out socially and (figuratively) things turning out a certain way. It is an irregular -ir verb of the hiatus type: the stem ends in a vowel (sa-), so when an ending also begins with a vowel, the two vowels are pronounced separately, and an accented í often appears to mark that separation. Getting the accent distribution right (saí, saímos, saíram — but saiu, saindo with no accent) is the single hardest thing about this very common verb. This page maps it all out.
Why the í accent appears (and where it doesn't)
The stem is sa- and the theme vowel is -i-. When a stressed i stands alone in its own syllable next to a, Portuguese marks it with an acute accent to signal the hiatus: sa-í (two syllables), not the diphthong sai (one syllable). The accent is therefore a pronunciation cue, not decoration.
The rule of thumb: the í is accented when it is stressed and stands in hiatus — eu saí, nós saímos, eles saíram, and the whole imperfect (saía, saíamos…). It is not accented when:
- it forms a diphthong with the next vowel and is not the stressed vowel: saiu (he left — stress on the u), saindo (the gerúndio, stress on the i but followed by ndo, no hiatus written).
- the present-tense eu saio and eles saem, where the stress and syllable structure don't require it.
Presente do indicativo
The eu form is saio (with the inserted i making a diphthong), and the third-person plural is saem (no accent — sa-em, hiatus but unstressed-i so unwritten).
| Pronoun | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | saio |
| tu | sais |
| você / ele / ela | sai |
| nós | saímos |
| vocês / eles / elas | saem |
Note that the present nós form is saímos (accented) — and it is identical to the preterite nós form. Context tells them apart.
Eu saio do trabalho às seis e vou direto para a academia.
I leave work at six and go straight to the gym.
Eles saem todo sábado para dançar forró.
They go out every Saturday to dance forró.
Pretérito perfeito
This is where the accents demand attention: saí, saiu, saímos, saíram. The eu form saí, the nós form saímos, and the eles form saíram all carry the accent; the ele form saiu does not.
| Pronoun | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | saí |
| tu | saíste |
| você / ele / ela | saiu |
| nós | saímos |
| vocês / eles / elas | saíram |
Ontem eu saí cedo e ainda peguei trânsito.
Yesterday I left early and still hit traffic.
A festa estava chata, então a gente saiu antes da meia-noite.
The party was boring, so we left before midnight.
Eles saíram correndo quando começou a chover.
They ran out when it started to rain.
Pretérito imperfeito
The imperfect carries the accent throughout, since the stressed í always stands in hiatus before the -a endings: saía, saías, saía, saíamos, saíam.
| Pronoun | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | saía |
| tu | saías |
| você / ele / ela | saía |
| nós | saíamos |
| vocês / eles / elas | saíam |
Quando eu era solteiro, saía todo fim de semana.
When I was single, I'd go out every weekend.
Futuro do presente & futuro do pretérito (conditional)
Both are built on the full infinitive sair-, so they are regular and take no special accent on the stem.
| Pronoun | Futuro do presente | Futuro do pretérito |
|---|---|---|
| eu | sairei | sairia |
| tu | sairás | sairias |
| você / ele / ela | sairá | sairia |
| nós | sairemos | sairíamos |
| vocês / eles / elas | sairão | sairiam |
In speech, the simple future gives way to ir + infinitive: vou sair rather than sairei. (informal)
A gente vai sair para jantar fora hoje, quer vir junto?
We're going out for dinner tonight, want to come along?
Presente do subjuntivo
Built on the eu form saio minus the -o → stem sai- plus -a endings, again with the hiatus: saia, saias, saia, saiamos, saiam. Note these are not accented (the stress and structure don't require it), unlike the imperfect indicative.
| Pronoun | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | saia |
| tu | saias |
| você / ele / ela | saia |
| nós | saiamos |
| vocês / eles / elas | saiam |
Watch the minimal pair: present subjunctive saia (no accent) vs imperfect indicative saía (accent). The accent is the only difference, and it reflects a real difference in pronunciation and stress.
Quero que você saia dessa situação o quanto antes.
I want you to get out of this situation as soon as possible.
Imperfeito & futuro do subjuntivo
The imperfect subjunctive uses -ísse (accented, in hiatus); the future subjunctive is built on the preterite stem and accents the í before vowel endings.
| Pronoun | Imperfeito do subjuntivo | Futuro do subjuntivo |
|---|---|---|
| eu | saísse | sair |
| tu | saísses | saíres |
| você / ele / ela | saísse | sair |
| nós | saíssemos | sairmos |
| vocês / eles / elas | saíssem | saírem |
Se eu saísse agora, chegaria a tempo.
If I left now, I'd arrive on time.
Assim que você sair do banco, me liga.
As soon as you leave the bank, call me.
Imperativo
The affirmative tu form (sai) is from the present indicative; você/vocês and all negatives use the subjunctive stem.
| Pronoun | Afirmativo | Negativo |
|---|---|---|
| tu | sai | não saias |
| você | saia | não saia |
| nós | saiamos | não saiamos |
| vocês | saiam | não saiam |
Sai da frente da TV, por favor, não estou vendo nada.
Get out of the way of the TV, please, I can't see anything.
Non-finite forms
The gerúndio is saindo — note no accent (the i forms a diphthong-like cluster before ndo). The particípio is saído — note the accent (hiatus sa-í-do).
| Form | Result |
|---|---|
| Infinitivo | sair |
| Infinitivo pessoal (eu / você / ele) | sair |
| Infinitivo pessoal (nós) | sairmos |
| Infinitivo pessoal (vocês / eles) | saírem |
| Gerúndio | saindo |
| Particípio | saído |
Saindo de casa agora, chego aí em vinte minutos.
Leaving home now, I'll get there in twenty minutes.
Meaning and constructions
- sair de = to leave from / exit a place. The preposition is de: sair de casa, sair do trabalho, sair do país.
- sair para = to go out (to do something): sair para jantar, sair para comprar pão.
- sair com = to go out with someone — and, like English, it carries the romantic/dating sense. Ele está saindo com a Carla = He's dating Carla. (informal)
- sair caro / barato = to turn out expensive / cheap. Here sair means how something ends up: Essa viagem saiu caro.
- sair also = to come out (a stain, the sun, a photo): A mancha não sai; O sol saiu; A foto saiu tremida.
Saí de casa correndo e esqueci a carteira em cima da mesa.
I rushed out of the house and forgot my wallet on the table.
Reformar o banheiro saiu muito mais caro do que a gente esperava.
Remodeling the bathroom turned out much more expensive than we expected.
Common Mistakes
The accent traps and the sair/deixar split cause most errors.
❌ Ontem eu sai cedo do trabalho.
Incorrect — the eu preterite needs the accent: saí.
✅ Ontem eu saí cedo do trabalho.
Yesterday I left work early.
❌ Ele saíu correndo.
Incorrect — the ele preterite has no accent: saiu.
✅ Ele saiu correndo.
He ran out.
❌ Estou saíndo agora.
Incorrect — the gerúndio has no accent: saindo.
✅ Estou saindo agora.
I'm leaving now.
❌ Eu saí as chaves dentro do carro.
Incorrect — to leave something behind is deixar, not sair.
✅ Eu deixei as chaves dentro do carro.
I left the keys inside the car.
❌ Quero que ele sai daqui.
Incorrect — after 'quero que' use the subjunctive saia.
✅ Quero que ele saia daqui.
I want him to leave here.
Key Takeaways
- Sair is a hiatus -ir verb: the vowel-final stem creates two-vowel forms and the telltale í accent.
- Accent on: saí, saímos, saíram, saía/saíamos, saísse, saído. Accent off: saiu, saio, saem, saindo, present subjunctive saia.
- The crucial minimal pairs are saí vs saiu (preterite) and saía vs saia (imperfect vs subjunctive).
- sair de (leave from), sair com (date), sair caro (turn out expensive), sair (come out / turn out).
- Leaving a place is sair; leaving an object behind is deixar.
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