LESSON NOTES · レッスンノート

N5Lesson notes · Oct 6, 2026

Leave in Japanese: 出でる (deru), 出でかける (dekakeru), 帰かえる (kaeru) and more — which one do you need?

There is no single Japanese word for "leave": use 出でる (deru) to exit a place, 出でかける (dekakeru) to go out, 帰かえる (kaeru) to head home, 離はなれる (hanareru) to move away from someone, 置おいていく (oite iku) to leave something behind, and やめる (yameru) to quit.

Most dictionaries give you 出でる as the answer to "leave" and stop there. That works for walking out of a room and fails for about half of the other times English uses the word. English packs a lot of different ideas into one verb, and Japanese asks you to say which idea you mean. This article sorts them out, with the particles, because the particle is half of the problem.

The basics

Which verb means "leave" in Japanese?

It depends on what you mean by leave. Ask yourself one question first: what is happening? Are you exiting a place, going out for a while, going home, abandoning an object, or ending a job? Each has its own verb.

部屋へやを出でる。 — I leave the room. (plain form, exiting a place) ちょっと出でかけてくる。 — I'm going out for a bit. (casual, back later) 先さきに帰かえるね。 — I'm heading home first. (casual, to a friend at a party)

The table below is the map. Keep it open while you read.

English "leave" Japanese verb Particle Example
leave a room, house, station 出でる (deru) を 家いえを出でる
go out, leave the house for an errand 出でかける (dekakeru) に / (no object) 買い物かいものに出でかける
leave work, school, a party and go home 帰かえる (kaeru) (no object) / に 先さきに帰かえる
move away from a person or place 離はなれる (hanareru) を / から 席せきを離はなれる
leave something behind on purpose 置おいていく (oite iku) を 荷物にもつを置おいていく
leave something behind by accident 置おき忘わすれる (okiwasureru) / 忘わすれる を 傘かさを置おき忘わすれた
leave food or a message 残のこす (nokosu) を 料理りょうりを残のこす
leave a job or school for good やめる / 辞やめる (yameru) を 仕事しごとを辞やめる
leave something as it is そのままにする / 放ほうっっておく を そのままにしておく

How do you say "leave a room or a house"?

Use 出でる with を. The particle を marks the place you are exiting, which is the opposite of how English works.

家いえを出でる時間じかんだよ。 — It's time to leave the house. (casual, to a family member) 電車でんしゃは三時さんじに駅えきを出でる。 — The train leaves the station at three. (plain form, schedule)

Note that 出でる is a verb of movement, so を here is the "point of departure" particle, the same job it does with 歩あるく in 道みちを歩あるく. If you want the destination instead, you need a different verb. 出でる tells you where you start from, not where you are going.

How do you say "go out" with 出でかける?

Use 出でかける when the point is that you are going out for a while and will come back. There is usually no object. The destination, if you mention it, takes に.

今日きょうは友ともだちと出でかけます。 — I'm going out with a friend today. (polite) 映画えいがを見みに出でかけた。 — I went out to see a movie. (plain past)

This is the verb for "I'm off now" and "I'm not at home". It is also what you hear when someone is out of reach: 今いま、出でかけています means "they're out right now". If you want to practise the goodbye phrases that go with it, how to say goodbye in Japanese covers いってきます and いってらっしゃい.

Beyond the basics

Why is "leave the office" usually 帰かえる and not 出でる?

Because Japanese asks where you are going, not what you are exiting. When English says "I'm leaving the office", it almost always means "I'm done for the day and heading home". Japanese says that with 帰かえる or with the work word 退社たいしゃする. 会社かいしゃを出でる is grammatical, but it sounds like you are describing the physical act of walking out of the building: 会社かいしゃを出でたところです, "I just came out of the office".

お先さきに失礼しつれいします。 — I'll leave before you. (polite, said when you head home before your colleagues) そろそろ帰かえります。 — I should be going soon. (polite, at a dinner or a party) 会社かいしゃを出でたところです。 — I've just left the office. (polite, on the phone, giving your location)

This is the pattern learners miss most. They memorize "leave = 出でる" and then say 会社かいしゃを出でます when they mean "I'm going home", and the listener hears something about the building. Use 帰かえる for going home, and 出でる only when the place itself matters. For how to tell someone you will be late on your way, see how to say you will be late in Japanese.

There is a second trap in 会社かいしゃを出でる. Because 出でる also means "come out of" something, you might expect 会社かいしゃを出でる to mean quitting. It does not. For quitting a job, the standard verb is 辞やめる.

How do you leave something behind?

Use 置おいていく for leaving something on purpose, and 忘わすれる or 置おき忘わすれる for leaving it by accident. Leave behind is the "leave" that 出でる cannot do at all.

荷物にもつはここに置おいていってください。 — Please leave your bags here. (polite, a request) 傘かさを電車でんしゃに置おき忘わすれた。 — I left my umbrella on the train. (plain past, an accident) 財布さいふを家いえに忘わすれた。 — I forgot my wallet at home. (plain past)

The 置おく in 置おいていく means "put down". 置おいていく is "put it down and go". The same verb is what you hear in a famous emotional line from anime, 置おいていかないで, "don't leave me behind". Someone is about to be left by their friends, and the verb carries the whole fear of being abandoned.

Notice what the verbs do not say. English "I left my umbrella" is ambiguous between on purpose and by accident. Japanese forces the choice: 置おいていく is deliberate, 忘わすれる is not.

How do you leave food or a message?

Use 残のこす. 残のこす means "to leave something remaining" and is the one you need for leftovers and for notes.

すみません、全部ぜんぶは食たべられなくて、残のこしてしまいました。 — Sorry, I couldn't finish it all and I left some. (polite, at a restaurant) メッセージを残のこしてください。 — Please leave a message. (polite, voicemail)

残のこす is transitive: you leave something. The intransitive partner is 残のこる, "to remain": 料理りょうりが残のこっている, "some food is left". Learn them as a pair, because the particle follows the verb (を with 残のこす, が with 残のこる).

How do you say "leave me alone"?

Do not translate it word for word. "Leave me alone" has nothing to do with going anywhere, so 出でる and 離はなれる are wrong. The natural phrase is ほっといて (a casual contraction of 放ほうっっておいて), "leave me as I am".

ほっといて。 — Leave me alone. (casual, blunt, can sound angry) ちょっと一人ひとりにして。 — Give me a minute alone. (casual, softer than ほっといて) そのままにしておいて。 — Leave it as it is. (casual, about an object)

ほっといて is stronger than the English. It is something said in a quarrel. If you only want space, 一人ひとりにして is the safer choice. You will hear ほっといて a lot in anime, usually from a character who is hurt and angry at the same time.

How do you say "leave a job or a school"?

Use やめる for quitting, usually written 辞やめる for a job and 退学たいがくする for school. The question is whether the leaving is permanent. If it is, you cannot use 出でる.

来月らいげつ、会社かいしゃを辞やめます。 — I'm leaving my company next month. (polite) 学校がっこうをやめたくない。 — I don't want to leave school. (casual)

Both use を in the same way as 出でる: you quit the thing. Be careful, because 会社かいしゃをやめる is a big statement and can be spoken about someone else in a sensitive tone. Learners who say 会社かいしゃを出でる for "I left my job" are saying something else entirely.

What is the difference between 離はなれる and 出でる?

離はなれる is about distance from a person or place, not exiting a space. 出でる needs an inside and an outside. 離はなれる only needs a gap.

席せきを離はなれないでください。 — Please don't leave your seat. (polite, announcement on a train or plane) 彼女かのじょは地元じもとを離はなれた。 — She left her hometown. (plain past, moved away) 危あぶないから、離はなれて。 — It's dangerous, stand back. (casual, warning)

In the last sentence, 離はなれて is the imperative-like te-form: "move away from here". You will also hear 離はなれない, "I won't leave your side", in romance and action scenes.

What happens to leave in casual speech?

The polite pieces drop away. 帰かえります becomes 帰かえる, then 帰かえるね, then とりあえず帰かえるわ in a casual voice. 出でかける becomes 出でかけてくる. The sentence-final particles carry the mood: ね is soft and friendly, わ is rougher and slightly masculine or feminine depending on the speaker.

じゃあ、そろそろ行いくね。 — Well, I'll be going now. (casual, to a friend) もう行いくよ。 — I'm going now. (casual, a little impatient)

Notice 行いく here. When English says "I'm leaving" and means "I'm off", Japanese often says 行いく, not 出でる. 行いく describes the movement away from where you are. For a calm "see you later" in that spirit, soon and later in Japanese covers the time words that tend to follow.

Common mistakes

  • Saying 出でる for every leave. 会社かいしゃを出でる, 学校がっこうを出でる and 家いえを出でる can all be physical exits, but "I'm going home from work" is 帰かえる. "I quit" is やめる.
  • Using 出でる to leave something behind. 傘かさを出でた is not Japanese. You need 置おいていく or 忘わすれる.
  • Translating "leave me alone" literally. 私わたしから離はなれて means "move away from me", which is a physical instruction. For the emotional meaning, say ほっといて.
  • Mixing up 出でかける and 出でる. 出でかける has no object and means "go out". 家いえを出でる names the place you exit. Both can describe the same morning, but they answer different questions.
  • Using に with 出でる. 家いえに出でる is wrong. The place you leave takes を (家いえを出でる) or から (家いえから出でる).
  • Missing the location particle for 帰かえる. Both 家いえに帰かえる and 家いえへ帰かえる are fine. Do not say 家いえを帰かえる, because 帰かえる does not mark the place you leave with を.

Practice

Build each answer before opening it. Questions 3 and 4 are a pair, and so are questions 5 and 6: same English, different Japanese.

1. Say "I leave the house at eight" with 出でる.

Show answer

八はち時じに家いえを出でる — を marks the place you are exiting, and 出でる is the verb for exiting a place.

2. You are at a dinner and want to say politely "I should be going soon." Which verb: 出でる or 帰かえる?

Show answer

そろそろ帰かえります — you are heading home, so 帰かえる. 出でる would describe walking out of the room.

3. Say "I left my umbrella on the train" (by accident).

Show answer

傘かさを電車でんしゃに置おき忘わすれた — 置おき忘わすれる is "leave behind by accident". It is the pair to question 4.

4. Say "Please leave your bags here" (on purpose).

Show answer

荷物にもつはここに置おいていってください — 置おいていく is deliberate. Same English "leave behind", different verb, because the intent changed.

5. Say "Please don't leave your seat."

Show answer

席せきを離はなれないでください — 離はなれる means moving away from a place, and を marks the place. It is the pair to question 6.

6. Say "I'm leaving my company next month" (quitting).

Show answer

来月らいげつ、会社かいしゃを辞やめます — the leaving is permanent, so 辞やめる, not 出でる.

7. Someone shouts "Leave me alone!" in a quarrel. What do they say?

Show answer

ほっといて — it is not about going anywhere. 放ほうっっておく means "leave something as it is", and the te-form makes it a request.

8. What is the difference between 出でかける and 出でる?

Show answer

出でかける means "go out" with no object; 出でる names the place you exit with を. 買い物かいものに出でかける but 家いえを出でる.

9. You left some food on the plate. Say "I left some of it."

Show answer

少すこし残のこしました — 残のこす is transitive, "to leave something remaining". The partner 残のこる (a thing remains) takes が instead.

During a trial lesson, tell me about leaving a room, heading out for the day and leaving something behind, and choose between 出でる, 出でかける, 帰かえる and 置おいていく.

FAQ

Is 出でる ever wrong for "leave"? Yes. It is wrong whenever the thing you leave is not a space you physically exit: leaving a job, leaving something behind, and leaving someone alone all use other verbs.

Can I say 会社かいしゃを出でる to mean "I left work for the day"? Grammatically yes, but it sounds like you are describing the walk out of the building, not the end of your day. Use 帰かえる or お先さきに失礼しつれいします for that.

How do I say "leave" in the sense of a train departing? Use 出でる or 出発しゅっぱつする. 電車でんしゃは三時さんじに出でる, "the train leaves at three", works because the train exits the station.

What is the difference between 帰かえる and 戻もどる? 帰かえる is going back to where you belong, usually home. 戻もどる is going back to where you were a moment ago: 席せきに戻もどる, "return to my seat". If you want to talk about the place itself, the words are 家いえ (いえ) and うち.

Is ほっといて rude? It is blunt. Between close friends it can be playful, but if someone says it with a hard tone, they mean it. Use 一人ひとりにして for a gentler request.

Do I need は or が after the thing I leave? Usually を, because you are acting on the thing. If you are contrasting it, は can replace を. For the difference between は and が in general, read wa vs ga in Japanese.

Vocabulary from this article

Tap the block to select all of it, then copy. In Anki: File → Import, note type Basic, separator Tab, and the two columns land in Front / Back.

出る	でる — to leave (a place), to go out
出かける	でかける — to go out
帰る	かえる — to go home, to return
離れる	はなれる — to move away from
置く	おく — to put down
置いていく	おいていく — to leave behind (on purpose)
置き忘れる	おきわすれる — to leave behind (by accident)
忘れる	わすれる — to forget
残す	のこす — to leave (remaining)
残る	のこる — to remain
辞める	やめる — to quit
放っておく	ほうっておく — to leave alone
退社する	たいしゃする — to leave work for the day
荷物	にもつ — luggage, bags
席	せき — seat

I'm Yuuki, a Japanese teacher based in Tokyo. I've taught on italki as a Top 1% teacher and watched over 1,500 anime, so most of the example sentences on this blog come from lines I've actually heard students ask about — including this one, which comes up in nearly every beginner's first few lessons. For practice with feedback, Book a trial lesson · $13, or work through Japanese practice exercises first.

Sources: the author's own lessons and standard reference grammars.

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