In French, depending on context you will use one of these four verbs to express to leave: partir, laisser, quitter or sortir.
Look at these sentences:
Je suis parti tôt ce soir.
I left early tonight.
Elle part tous les jours à six heures.
She leaves every day at six.
Vous êtes sortis de la pièce avant nous.
You came out of the room before us.
(You left the room before us.)
Nous sortons juste du métro.
We're just coming out of the metro.
(We're just leaving the metro.)
Il a quitté son travail.
He quit his job.
Elle quitte Patrick pour quelqu'un d'autre.
She's leaving Patrick for someone else.
Nous avons laissé les passeports dans la voiture !
We left the passports in the car!
Tu laisses la porte ouverte tous les soirs.
You leave the door open every evening.
Note the following distinctions:
- partir means to leave / to go away. You can use it on its own (e.g. I leave = Je pars).
When used with a place, it will always be followed by a preposition (e.g. I leave from / for = Je pars de / pour)
Special case: It's very colloquial to say partir en vacances for to go on holiday:
Cette année, nous partons en vacances en hiver.
This year, we're going (away) on holiday in the winter.
- sortir means to go out. When used with de, sortir de + place, it can express the idea of 'leaving', in the sense of coming or going out of a place.
- quitter means to leave some place / somewhere. You cannot use it on its own: it always needs an object, and it can be used for places and people (for example to break up).
Quitter is also the only one to mean to leave / quit a job or [someone] for good.
- laisser means to leave something / to let. You cannot use it on its own. However, this one is NOT used for places, only to leave people or things in places.
Grammar Jargon: partir and sortir are intransitive verbs, whereas quitter and laisser are always transitive verbs (i.e. have a direct object).
Learn more about these related French grammar topics
Examples and resources
Cette année, nous partons en vacances en hiver.
This year, we're going (away) on holiday in the winter.
Je laisse ma fille à l'école.
I'm leaving my daughter at school.
Je suis parti tôt ce soir.
I left early tonight.
Je pars de cette ville.
I'm leaving this town.
Nous avons laissé les passeports dans la voiture !
We left the passports in the car!
Nous sortons juste du métro.
We're just coming out of the metro.
(We're just leaving the metro.)
Nous allons partir de Paris.
We are going to leave from Paris.
Il a quitté son travail.
He quit his job.
Je vais laisser mes clés sur la table.
I'm going to leave my keys on the table.
Je quitte cette ville pour de bon.
I'm leaving this town for good.
Je sors de la maison.
I'm going out of the house.
(I'm leaving the house.)
Tu laisses la porte ouverte tous les soirs.
You leave the door open every evening.
Elle part tous les jours à six heures.
She leaves every day at six.
Elle quitte Patrick pour quelqu'un d'autre.
She's leaving Patrick for someone else.
Vous êtes sortis de la pièce avant nous.
You came out of the room before us.
(You left the room before us.)
Q&A
Jim
Kwiziq community member
9/12/16
Laura
Kwiziq language super star
20/02/16
Bonjour John,
Both of these French verbs can indicate movement toward and away from a place, and they both need prepositions for these meanings.
Je pars de Londres / Je pars pour Londres = I'm leaving London / I'm leaving for London.
Je sors de Londres / Je sors à Londres = I'm leaving from London / I'm going out in London.
You're correct that Je sors pour Londres and Je sors Londres are not possible, but remember that these verbs can also be used without places, e.g., Je pars à midi, On va sortir ce soir.
Tom
Kwiziq community member
21/07/18
I believe sortir can also be used transitively as in:
Je sors le chien - I am putting the dog out
Je sors les ordures - I am putting the trash out
Daniel
Kwiziq community member
21/08/18
Hi, in those examples "Je pars à midi" and "On va sortir ce soir",
is it incorrect to say "Je sors à midi" and "On va partir ce soir"?
Rod
Kwiziq community member
18 October 2018
3 replies
Quitter vs Partir
We were asked to translate “I am leaving my place”. But it is ambiguous in English. E.g. if followed by “for ever” (as in moving out of my apartment), that would be “quitter”. But followed by “so i will see you at the cafe soon” would be “partir”. Shouldn’t the phrase be clarified to avoid ambiguity?
Chris
Kwiziq community member
18 October 2018
18/10/18
You can even say quitter if you leave work for home.
Je quit le travail à 5 heures et je rentre à la maison.
Chris
Kwiziq community member
18 October 2018
18/10/18
Cécile
Kwiziq language super star
19 October 2018
19/10/18
Hi Rod,
As has been said elsewhere in the Q&A in this lesson -
Quitter and laisser are transitive and have an object unlike ´partir' which doesn't , so the use of the verb will depend on the actual sentence ...