What's the difference between sortir and partir in French?

Sortir and partir can be both used for -to leave a place. In this post, you will learn the differences between these two verbs and some tips to use them in a right context.

Sortir 

Sortir means to leave/exit from a place (a room or a building). It's followed by the preposition de.

For example:

• Les étudiants sortent de la salle de classe. (The students leave the classroom)

Sortir means to go out, as with friends or on a date. It's usually followed by the preposition avec.

For example:

• Je sors avec mes amis ce soir. (I'm going out with my friends tonight)

Partir 

Partir means -to leave in general sense/-to go away and can be used with no preposition/place.

• Je pars. (I'm leaving.)
• Nous partons demain. (We are leaving tomorrow)

Partir is used to express leaving for a large place such as a city, region or country. It's usually followed by the preposition pour.

• Quand est-ce que tu pars pour le Canada? (When are you leaving for Canada?
• Mes parents partent pour New York la semaine prochaine. (My parents are leaving for New York next week)

 Here are the conjugations of these two irregular -ir verbs.

Let's practice!

Fill in the blank with the correct form of the verb sortir or partir.

1) Anne adore ____  avec ses copains le week-end.

2) Je ___ pour le concert à neuf heures. 

3) Est-ce que vous ____ pour la France cet automne?

4) Mes parents et moi _____ de chez nous.

5) Quand est-ce que tu ___ pour Montréal?

Check your answers

1) sortir

2) pars

3) partez 

4) sortons

5) pars 

Check out my book Don't mix them up to learn the differences between the most confusing French word pairs!