dejar en paz
verbCEFR B1
What does “dejar en paz” mean in English?
to leave alone, to stop bothering
to leave alone, to stop bothering (dejar en paz + direct object; very common in imperative: ¡déjame en paz!)
Example sentences
Estoy intentando concentrarme en este informe; por favor, déjame en paz hasta que lo termine.
I'm trying to concentrate on this report; please leave me alone until I finish it.
Le pedí que me dejara en paz, pero siguió llamándome hasta que tuve que bloquear su número.
I asked him to leave me alone, but he kept calling until I had to block his number.
A veces lo mejor es dejar en paz a las personas que están pasando un momento difícil y esperar a que sean ellas las que den el primer paso.
Sometimes the best thing is to leave people alone who are going through a difficult time and wait for them to be the ones who take the first step.
How to use it
Dejar en paz means 'to leave alone', 'to stop bothering', or 'to let someone be'. It is transitive: déjame en paz (leave me alone), déjalo en paz (leave him alone). In the imperative it is extremely common. It can also appear in infinitive constructions: necesito que me dejen en paz. The phrase dejar en paz does not carry the same sense of cessation as dejar de (stop doing) — it specifically means leaving a person undisturbed. Paz here means 'peace', so the literal reading 'leave in peace' is relatively transparent.
Common mistake
Dejar en paz (leave alone) is distinct from dejar de + infinitive (stop doing). Do not confuse them. Also note the preposition: the fixed phrase is dejar en paz, not *dejar a paz. Closely related: no molestar (do not disturb), but dejar en paz is idiomatic and more emotionally loaded in interpersonal contexts.