Vocabulary - Leave

In the word lists, there are two words given for 'leave'. The first is verlaten which means to leave. It  can mean leave in the physical sense of leaving one place for another, or in the sense of abandoning someone or something. It requires leaving something or someone.

The second word, vertrekken, can be used when you are leaving to go somewhere else, but when you are not mentioning where you are leaving.This can not be used in the sense of abandoning someone or something, although it can be used for the break up of a relationship, but perhaps not so commonly. It's more towards depart than just leave, and is also used for take off.

Verlaten is something you do to a place (or person). Vertrekken is something you do.

Examples

• De vrouw verlaat de kamer. - The woman leaves the bedroom.
• De man vertrekt naar Frankrijk. - The man leaves for France.  (literally: to France)

• De vrouw verlaat haar man. - The woman leaves her husband.
• Hij is bij haar vertrokken. - He left (departed from) her.
• Hij heeft haar verlaten. - He left (abandoned) her.
• Hij is bij haar weg. - He left her. (He is from her away.) This is possibly a more common way to express the breakup.

• De man is net vertrokken. - The man has just left - we don't know where from so it's vertrekken.
• De man heeft net het gebouw verlaten. - The man just left the building. - We know where he left so it's verlaten.
• De man is net uit het gebouw vertrokken. -  The man just left the building. - but we can use vertrekken if we say he left 'out of' the building.

• De man vertrekt uit de gebouw. - The man leaves (out of) the building.
• De man verlaat de gebouw. - The man leaves the building.