Which one should you use?
While 出発 refers to the start of a journey or departing from a point, it is not used for the act of leaving a person or a room. For those situations, terms like 去る or 出る are typically used.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
The noun 出発 can be made polite and suitable for most daily conversations and professional settings by adding します to form 出発します.
How do you pronounce it?
shuppatsu
When do people say it?
When leaving a household, the person departing says 行ってきます, which means "I'm off" or "I'll be back". The person staying behind responds with 行ってらっしゃい, meaning "Please go and come back safely". In a workplace, you might say お疲れ様でした, which means "Thank you for your hard work", when leaving or bidding farewell to colleagues. For formal partings where you might not see someone for a while, you can use さようなら (goodbye or farewell). When leaving a formal gathering, a meeting or someone's house, you can use the formal phrase 失礼します (Excuse me for leaving). Among friends and family, the casual phrase またね is used to mean "See you later" or "Goodbye for now".
Did you know?
- When leaving a professional meeting, the phrase 失礼します is used, which literally translates to 'I am being rude'.
- In Japanese workplaces, the phrase お疲れ様でした is used when leaving, but it does not mean 'goodbye' and instead translates to 'you are tired', acknowledging the shared labor of the day.
- While 出発 is for journeys, the word 旅立ち is used for 'leaving' when it refers to a life-changing departure, such as a child leaving home to start adulthood.
Examples in context
- いつ出発するの？When are you leaving?This example is useful for asking about the timing of departure using 出発.Tatoeba #228639 by tommy__san, translation #499538 by blay_paul
- 今日出発するの？Are you leaving today?This example is useful for asking if the departure is happening today using 出発.Tatoeba #8722376 by bunbuku, translation #2464743 by sharptoothed
- 今夜出発します。I'm leaving tonight.This example is useful for stating a departure time using the polite form of 出発.Tatoeba #10134082 by small_snow, translation #2248060 by CK
- 卒業後は、学校の先生とお別れなので、さようならと言いました。After graduation, I said goodbye to my teachers at school, saying "Sayōnara".
- 失礼しますが、他の予定が入っていますので、お先に失礼します。Excuse me for leaving, but I have other plans, so I'll take my leave now.
- 今日は楽しかった！またね！Today was fun! See you later!
- 行ってきます！I'm off!
- 行ってらっしゃい！Please go and come back safely!
- 今日も頑張りましたね！お疲れ様でした！You worked hard today too! Thank you for your hard work!
- 45 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Kenta and Yui are at a train station discussing a trip.
- 健太 Kenta出発の時間は、何時ですか？shuppatsu no jikan wa, nanji desu ka?What time is the departure?
- 結衣 Yui十時ちょうどに出発します。juuji choudo ni shuppatsu shimasu.We depart at exactly ten o'clock.
- 健太 Kenta準備はもういい？junbi wa mou ii?Are you ready?
- 結衣 Yuiはい、大丈夫です。hai, daijoubu desu.Yes, I am fine.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry 出発, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
