What does “esfumarse” mean in Spanish?
Alejandra acusa a Leopoldina de robar aretes de oro
A2 Spanish listening practice · Mexican Spanish · Picked for people who know a little
Esfumarse means to vanish suddenly and without trace, like smoke disappearing. It builds on humo (“smoke”), so se esfumaron is close to “they went up in smoke.” Use it for things and people alike: money that is suddenly gone, a friend who slips out of a party, a chance that never came back. It sounds more vivid than desaparecer.
In the scene, someone accuses a woman of taking a pair of earrings, and the witness answers no vi nada, se esfumaron (“I saw nothing, they just vanished”). The verb is reflexive (esfumarse), so it changes with the subject: se esfumó el dinero, me esfumé de la fiesta (“I slipped out of the party”). In Latin America earrings are aretes; Spain says pendientes.
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Source: wordfreq 3.1.1 (general) · SUBTLEX-ESP 2011 (spoken). These numbers are close, not perfect.