How to Say "I Leave" in French

je m'en vais

I leave in French is je m'en vais.

je m'en vais means I am leaving or I am off. It is the natural thing to say when you announce that you are going away from where you are now.

What does it mean word for word?

je means I, vais means go and en adds the idea of away from here, so the whole is close to I am going away.

French has one present tense, so je m'en vais covers both I leave and I am leaving.

Do not drop en. Without it the sentence only says I am going, not that you are leaving.

While je m'en vais is common, French speakers may use the phrase je file to say they are leaving quickly, which literally means 'I spin' or 'I dash' like a piece of thread.
The phrase je m'en vais is often accompanied by a slight wave or a step back, but in professional settings, it is more common to say je vous laisse which means 'I leave you'.
The verb vais in je m'en vais shares an ancient ancestor with the Latin word vadō, which is the root of the English word 'evade'.

Manon and Nathan are finishing a conversation at a cafe.

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