The difference between Lasciare, Partire, Uscire, Andare via
In this article I want to shed light on the difference in the usage of four Italian verbs that my students mix up all the time!
- lasciare – to leave (permanently)
- partire – to leave for/from
- uscire – to leave, to go out, to hang out
- andare via – to leave
LASCIARE: to leave, to break up
- ho lasciato la macchina in garage – I left my car in the garage (1)
- Maria ha lasciato il suo ragazzo – Maria broke up with her boyfriend (2)
- ho lasciato il mio lavoro – I left my job (3)
- ha lasciato l’Italia quando era piccolo – I left Italy when I was little (3)
PARTIRE: to leave from, to leave for
PARTIRE PER or DA has a very similar use to the English to leave from/for. It’s usually used to say you’re going on vacation or traveling for other reasons or by a form of transportation. So, remember that when using partire there should be always a form of transportation implied in the movement.
- domani parto per Roma – tomorrow I am leaving for Rome
- i miei amici sono partiti per le vacanze – my friends went on vacation
- il treno parte dalla stazione centrale – the train leaves from the Central Station
- Il treno è partito due minuti fa – the train left two minutes ago
- l’autobus è partito – the bus left
What’s the difference between “partire” and “uscire”?
USCIRE: to leave, to go out, to hang out
Uscire means to leave in the sense of going out of a place (your home, your office, your gym, a shop) knowing that you’re coming back the same day or later. It’s always followed by the preposition da, with the exception of the idiomatic expression: uscire di casa (to leave your house).
- Esco di casa alle 8 – I leave (my home) every day at 8
- Quando sei uscito ieri? – When did you leave yesterday?
- Esco sempre dall‘ufficio alle 18 – I always leave my office at 6 pm
Uscire has other meanings, though.
Uscire is also frequently used with the meaning of “hanging out” or “going out,” and it’s typically used in some sentences, like the ones below.
- uscire con gli amici – to go out with friends
- uscire a bere qualcosa – to go out for drinks
Lastly, when uscire is used with the preposition con in the combination “uscire con” it means to date someone.
- Esco con Marco da un po’ → I have been dating Marco for a while
ANDARE VIA: to leave, to go away from
- è tardi, dobbiamo andare via – it’s late, we should leave (or go)
- andiamo via? Sono un po’ stanco – shouldn’t we go? I’m a little tired
- siamo usciti dalla palestra alle 9 – we left the gym at 9
Helpful textbooks to improve your Italian grammar at your own pace
