disparais

Disparais is a present-tense conjugation of the French verb disparaitre, meaning to disappear or vanish. In everyday usage, disparais appears in two subject forms: je disparais (I disappear) and tu disparais (you disappear). When written without an accompanying pronoun, the form is ambiguous and could refer to either the first or second person singular, depending on the context. The spelling also appears in the imperfect tense as disparaissais, which has a distinct double-s. form.

The verb disparaitre is used both literally and figuratively. Literally, it describes the act of ceasing to be visible or present, such as a person, object, or light vanishing from view. Figuratively, it can describe something fading away, ending, or becoming irrelevant or forgotten. Phrases in French often employ the imperfect or other tenses to convey gradual disappearance or repeated occurrences over time, for example, “je disparaissais dans la foule” (I was disappearing into the crowd).

Etymology and related forms: disparaitre comes from the prefix dis- plus a root related to appearing, historically forming a word meaning to cease to appear. The infinitive is disparaitre; the noun from the verb is disparition (disappearance). Related conjugated forms vary by tense and mood, with present forms including je disparais and tu disparais, and the third-person present form is il disparaît.

See also: disparition, apparaître (the related verb meaning to appear), and other derivatives of disparaitre. Note that in Spanish, a visually similar word exists as disparáis, but that is a different word with a distinct meaning and pronunciation.