Partir, Sair and Ir Embora in Portuguese

In Portuguese, Partir, Sair, and Ir Embora may have the same meaning: to leave the place you are now, heading to a known or unknown destination.

However, in some cases, the use of one of them is more common than another. And in other cases, these verbs could mean different things completely. It all depends on the context. 

Let’s check a few examples to help you better understand how to use them.

Examples where all three have the same meaning:

Vou partir do Rio de Janeiro em dezembro. (I’m leaving Rio de Janeiro in December.)
Vou sair do Rio de Janeiro em dezembro. (I’m leaving Rio de Janeiro in December.)
Vou embora do Rio de Janeiro em dezembro. (I’m leaving Rio de Janeiro in December.)

Meu amigo partiu da festa à meia-noite. (My friend left the party at midnight.)
Meu amigo saiu da festa à meia-noite. (My friend left the party at midnight.)
Meu amigo foi embora da festa à meia-noite. (My friend left the party at midnight.)

Hoje, parto do trabalho às 18h. (Today, I leave work at 18h.)
Hoje saio do trabalho às 18h. (Today, I leave work at 18h.)
Hoje vou embora do trabalho às 18h. (Today, I leave work at 18h.)

Por que você partiu sem falar nada? (Why did you leave without saying anything?)
Por que você saiu sem falar nada? (Why did you leave without saying anything?)
Por que você foi embora sem falar nada? (Why did you leave without saying anything?)

Examples with verb Partir:

O ônibus parte às 9 horas da manhã. (The bus leaves at 9 am.)
Davi partiu para sua viagem às 7 horas da manhã. (Davi left for his trip at 7 am.)

In the first example, even though it has the same meaning of “ir embora”, it is not common to say “O ônibus foi embora às 9h da manhã”. In a dialogue, we would adapt as follows:

─ Maria, o ônibus já foi? (Maria, is the bus gone already?)
─ Sim, foi às 9 horas em ponto. (Yes, the bus left at 9 am sharp.)

Examples with verb Sair:

Gabriel já saiu de casa para ir trabalhar. (Gabriel has already left home to go to work.)
O jogo de futebol já terminou e eu já saí do Maracanã. (The soccer game is already over and I already left Maracanã.)

Examples with the expression Ir Embora:

Estou cansada. Vamos embora? (I’m tired. Let’s go home?)
Não quero mais te ver! Vai embora! (I don’t want to see you anymore! Leave!)
Tchau, pessoal! Tô indo embora! (Bye, guys! I’m leaving!)

In these three examples, it is very common to use the expression ‘ir embora’, not ‘partir’ or ‘sair’.

Now that you know the similarities between Partir, Sair, and Ir Embora in Portuguese, let’s check a few other examples where these verbs mean totally different things.

Other meanings of the verb Partir:

1. Split/cut/slice

Example: Partimos a pizza em 4 pedaços. (We have sliced the pizza into 4 pieces.)

2. To divide and distribute the parts of a whole.

Example: O juiz dividiu  a herança em 4 partes. (The judge has divided the inheritance among the kids.)

3. To make it suffer

Example: As palavras dela partiram meu coração. (Her words broke my heart.)

4. To break

Example: O copo de vidro se partiu quando caiu no chão. (The glass shattered as it fell to the floor.)

5. To originate or to exit (from a certain point)

Example: Eles não sabem de onde o tiro partiu. (They don’t know where the bullet came from.)

6. Expression meaning ‘Let’s go!’

Example: 
─ Partiu praia? (Let’s go to the beach!)
─ Já é. (For sure!)

Other meanings of verb Sair:

1. To abandon or to give up

Example: Mesmo com dificuldades para pagar as mensalidades, não saiu da escola. (Even having difficulties paying the tuition, he did not leave school.)

2. To be publicized or published

Example: O assunto saiu em todos os jornais. (The news was reported by every press company.)

3. To de released

Example: The new CD will be out next month.

4. To cross

Example: Essa rua sai na avenida principal. (This street crosses the main avenue.)

5. To go somewhere to have fun

Example: Vamos sair no fim de semana? (Let’s go out next weekend?)

6. To have a romantic relationship

Example: Eu saio com ele há 3 meses. (I have been dating him for 3 months.)

7. To disappear, to fade away

Example: A mancha da minha blusa não saiu. (The stain on my shirt didn’t come out.)

8. To appear

Example: Depois da chuva, o sol saiu. (The sun came out after the rain.)

9. The cost of something – when we talk about sales

Example: Os três sorvetes saíram por 18 reais. (The three ice cream cones were 18 reais.)

10. To present yourself as such an appearance

Example: Breno sempre sai bem nas fotos. (Breno always looks good in pictures.)

11. To have a great demand or sales (informal)

Example: Essa camisa está saindo muito. Todos estão gostando. (This shirt is selling a lot. Everyone is loving it.)

12. When something happens suddenly, unexpectedly.

Example: Na semana passada, saiu uma briga no trânsito. (Last week there was a fight in traffic.)

13. To look like someone (physically or the personality)

Example: A filha saiu à mãe. (The daughter came out like her mother.)

14. Get rid of something negative

Example: Ela saiu dos problemas com a ajuda da família. (She got rid of the problems with help of her family.)

Now that you know the similarities and differences of Partir, Sair, and Ir Embora in Portuguese, can you give us three examples using each one of these verbs?

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Amanda Ennes (205 Posts)