partir
/paʁ.tiʁ/
In French, the phrase 'to leave' is expressed by partir.
partir is used to describe the act of going away from a place. When you want to specify the location you are leaving from, you use the preposition de, such as in Je pars de la maison (I leave from the house).
Which one should you use?
It is important to distinguish partir from other ways to say 'to leave' in English. Use partir for a person's departure from a place, but note that it cannot take a direct object. You cannot 'partir' something. If you are leaving an object behind, such as leaving your keys, use the verb laisser. While partir means to depart or go away, you might also see quitter le bureau used for 'to leave the office' or quitter quelqu'un for 'to leave someone'.
How does it change in a sentence?
For the subject tu, the conjugation is Tu pars, for il/elle it is Il/elle part and for nous it is Nous partons. When using a compound tense to say someone 'has left', use the auxiliary verb être (e.g., être parti) rather than avoir.
How do you pronounce it?
/paʁ.tiʁ/
Did you know?
- The verb partir is used in the idiom partir de zéro, which means 'to start from scratch'.
- In certain contexts, saying Il est parti can imply that someone has passed away, similar to the English 'he has departed'.
- In French, you can use partir to describe a machine or an engine starting up, such as la voiture est partie.
Examples in context
- Tu veux partir ?Do you want to leave?This is useful for asking if someone wants to leave.Tatoeba #458684 by sacredceltic, translation #2011542 by CK
- Tom a dû partir.Tom had to leave.This shows how to express that someone had to leave.Tatoeba #5829771 by Aiji, translation #3116528 by jeedrek
- Je dois partir tôt.I've got to leave early.This is a way to express a necessity to leave early.Tatoeba #8382552 by Aiji, translation #6355718 by CK
- Je dois partir maintenantI have to leave now
- Il va quitter son emploiHe is going to leave his job
- Ça fait longtemps, il est temps que je m'en ailleIt's been a long time, time for me to leave
- On va faire croire qu'on reste, mais en fait on prend la tangenteWe'll make them believe we're staying, but in fact, we're taking off
- Il s'est barré sans même dire au revoirHe walked off without even saying goodbye
- 394 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Emma and Lucas are at a train station.
- EmmaLe train va bientôt partir.The train is going to leave soon.
- LucasEst-ce que tu es prêt, Emma ?Are you ready, Emma?
- EmmaOui, je suis prête à partir.Yes, I am ready to leave.
- LucasD'accord, on y va alors.Okay, let's go then.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry partir, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
