Key Facts
- Hangul: 출발하다 (chulbalhada)
- Meaning: to depart
- Level: A2
- Stem: 출발하
- Class: 하다 type
- Objects: intransitive
Meaning and Register
출발하다 means to depart, to leave a place in order to start a trip, as in 아침에 출발하다. It is a 하다 verb at level A2, with no object.
The starting place takes 에서, as in 서울에서 출발해요, and the goal usually takes (으)로, the particle of direction. That gives two particles to keep apart: 에서 for where from, (으)로 for where to.
Typical subjects are vehicles and groups: 기차가 출발하다 is a train leaving. The honorific polite form is 출발하세요.
Meanings:
- to depart. Leave a place to start a trip, as in 아침에 출발하다.
Sound
Most forms are read as written, including the dictionary form. The two shifts to know are 출발했어요, read [출발해써요], and 출발합니다, read [출발함니다], where ㅂ becomes ㅁ before ㄴ.
Example Sentences
버스가 열 시에 출발해요.
The bus departs at ten.
A bus is the subject and 열 시에 gives the time. The present tense is used for a fixed schedule.
우리는 아침 일찍 출발했어요.
We set off early in the morning.
우리는 (we) is the group that set off early in the morning, and 출발했어요 is the natural past for a group trip.
내일 아침에 서울에서 출발할 거예요.
I will depart from Seoul tomorrow morning.
The plan form 출발할 거예요 comes with 서울에서, the origin, and 내일 아침에, the time. It is the model for stating a departure plan.
Chulbalhada Conjugation Table
Contraction of 하 plus 여 into 해 gives 출발해요, 출발했어요 and 출발해. Consonant-starting endings are 출발합니다, 출발하면 and 출발하는. For a plan, 출발할 거예요 is the form shown. The negatives are 출발 안 해요 and 출발하지 않아요.
출발하다
| Form | Korean | Romanization | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 출발해요 | ||
| Polite past | 출발했어요 | ||
| Polite future (plan) | 출발할 거예요 | ||
| Polite future (intention or guess) | 출발하겠어요 | ||
| Formal present | 출발합니다 | ||
| Formal past | 출발했습니다 | ||
| Formal future | 출발할 것입니다 | ||
| Casual present | 출발해 | ||
| Casual past | 출발했어 | ||
| Casual future | 출발할 거야 | ||
| Want to (polite) | 출발하고 싶어요 | ||
| Honorific polite | 출발하세요 | ||
| Because / and then | 출발해서 | ||
| If (conditional) | 출발하면 | ||
| Present modifier (before a noun) | 출발하는 | ||
| Past modifier (before a noun) | 출발한 | ||
| Future modifier (before a noun) | 출발할 | ||
| Negative with 안 (short) | 출발 안 해요 | ||
| Negative (long form) | 출발하지 않아요 |
| Form | Korean | Sound if different |
|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 출발해요 | - |
| Polite past | 출발했어요 | [출발해써요] |
| Polite future | 출발할 거예요 | [출발할꺼예요] |
| Future guess | 출발하겠어요 | [출발하게써요] |
| Formal present | 출발합니다 | [출발함니다] |
| Formal past | 출발했습니다 | [출발핻씀니다] |
| Formal future | 출발할 것입니다 | [출발할꺼심니다] |
| Casual present | 출발해 | - |
| Casual past | 출발했어 | [출발해써] |
| Casual future | 출발할 거야 | [출발할꺼야] |
| Want to | 출발하고 싶어요 | [출발하고 시퍼요] |
| Honorific | 출발하세요 | - |
| Because | 출발해서 | - |
| If | 출발하면 | - |
| Present modifier | 출발하는 | - |
| Past modifier | 출발한 | - |
| Future modifier | 출발할 | - |
| Short negative | 출발 안 해요 | - |
| Long negative | 출발하지 않아요 | [출발하지 아나요] |
Class: 하다 Type
It is a 하다 type verb, so the noun 출발 stays unchanged and the verb part does all the work. See the 하다 lesson for the pattern.
Common Mistake
Wrong: ✗ 서울에 출발해요 (for 'leave from Seoul')
Correct: ✓ 서울에서 출발해요
Why: 에 marks where you arrive, not where you start. The starting place of 출발하다 takes 에서.
Learners who have just learned the 에 of 도착하다 (to arrive) often keep it for departures too. Use 에 for the arrival point and 에서 for the starting point. Formal announcements sometimes mark the starting place with 을/를 (서울을 출발해요), but in conversation 에서 is the norm.
Confusable Verbs
| Verb | Difference |
|---|---|
| 도착하다 | 출발하다 is to depart; 도착하다 is to arrive. |
| 떠나다 | 출발하다 is the start of a trip or vehicle departing; 떠나다 is to leave a place; the departure can be temporary or lasting. |
도착하다 is the other end of the trip. A timetable lists 출발하다 on one side and 도착하다 on the other.
떠나다 describes leaving a place, temporarily or for good. 출발하다 is the start of a trip or a vehicle pulling out.
Checking a Bus Departure at the Terminal
A traveller is checking whether the ten o’clock bus has already left. A terminal employee explains the timing and points them toward the next departure.
Traveller
버스가 벌써 출발했어요?
Beoseuga beolsseo chulbalhaesseoyo?
Has the bus already left?
Employee
네. 다음 버스는 열한 시에 출발해요.
Ne. Daeum beoseuneun yeolhan sie chulbalhaeyo.
Yes. The next bus leaves at eleven.
Traveller
그럼 저는 열한 시에 출발할 거예요.
Geureom jeoneun yeolhan sie chulbalhal geoyeyo.
Then I’ll leave at eleven.
Employee
네. 여기에서 기다리세요.
Ne. Yeogieseo gidariseyo.
Okay. Please wait here.
출발했어요 checks a completed departure. The employee uses 출발해요 for the next bus’s schedule, even though it is in the future. 출발할 거예요 states the traveller’s new plan. The subject shifts from the bus to the passenger; both can depart, so both work with this verb.
Which Departure Phrases Help with Travel?
출발 시간 means departure time. It tells you when a vehicle or group starts the journey. 출발지 is the place of departure, and 목적지 is the destination. In a booking form, these nouns name the two ends of the route without needing a full sentence.
서울 출발 means “departing from Seoul” in a compact label. A travel offer or timetable may omit particles and use this noun sequence. In your own sentence, 서울에서 출발해요 makes the origin explicit. Recognising a short label does not mean you should remove particles from every spoken sentence.
일찍 출발하다 means to set off early; 늦게 출발하다 means to leave late. These describe the time of setting out. They do not tell you whether the traveller arrives early or late, because the journey itself may take longer or shorter than expected.
새 출발 literally means “a new departure” and commonly means a fresh start. It can describe a new job, a relationship or a stage of life without any vehicle involved. This figurative noun phrase is useful, but ordinary 출발하다 in a travel conversation still points to setting out.
Where Will You See 출발?
Station boards, airport displays, bus timetables and travel itineraries use 출발 alongside 도착. 출발 labels the start, while 도착 labels the arrival. Check which heading a time belongs to: the same route can show both times on one row.
Formal announcements use 출발합니다. The formal ending is standard public-facing wording and does not honour the vehicle. 출발하세요, by contrast, includes the subject honorific 시 and can address a person respectfully. A bus can be described with 출발해요 or 출발합니다 without that honorific marker.
A navigation app can use 출발 for a route’s starting point. The origin need not be your home, and a departure time need not be the time you should reach the station. Boarding, finding a platform and departing are separate steps; 출발 names the journey’s start.
What Makes the Route Particles Tricky?
Keep origin + 에서 distinct from direction + (으)로. 서울에서 출발해요 says where the journey starts. 부산으로 says “toward Busan” when added to a travel sentence. A time expression uses 에, so 아침에 and 서울에서 can appear together without competing for the same role.
For the destination marker, choose 로 after a vowel or ㄹ, and 으로 after another final consonant. That is why 부산 pairs with 으로. The destination names the direction of travel; 출발하다 itself still reports departure, not arrival at the destination.
The verb is written as one word, including 출발했어요. Keep a space in 출발할 거예요 before 거예요. In a timetable, 출발 is a noun label; in 출발해요, 해요 carries the sentence ending. This helps you recognise why a display can use a shorter form than a conversation.
떠나다 can describe an ordinary temporary departure as well as a lasting one. 출발하다 focuses more narrowly on setting out. If a person leaves home to begin a trip, both may fit; if you are discussing the exact bus departure time, 출발하다 gives the clearer travel frame.
Words around a Departure Board
| Word | Meaning | Useful connection |
|---|---|---|
| 출발 | departure | The start of the journey. |
| 도착 | arrival | The other end of the route. |
| 승강장 | platform; boarding area | Where passengers wait for the vehicle. |
| 지연 | delay | A reason a displayed departure time may change. |
| 목적지 | destination | Where the journey is heading. |
The train and KTX vocabulary lesson teaches the station words around these timetable labels.
Mini Drill: Time, Origin and Plan
- Complete 서울___ 출발해요 for “leave from Seoul”.
- Complete 열 시___ 출발해요 for “leave at ten”.
- Put 출발해요 into polite past.
- Give the future plan form of 출발하다.
Show the departure answers
- 서울에서 출발해요.
- 열 시에 출발해요.
- 출발했어요.
- 출발할 거예요.
Quick Self-Test
- Does 출발 시간 mean arrival time?
- Can 출발해요 describe a future scheduled bus departure?
- Does 새 출발 always involve travel?
Show answers
- No. It is departure time; 도착 marks arrival.
- Yes. A timetable or stated time supplies the future meaning.
- No. It commonly means a fresh start in life or work.
FAQ
What Marks the Starting Place?
에서, as in 서울에서 출발해요.
What Marks the Goal?
Usually (으)로, the particle of direction.
How Is the past Pronounced?
출발했어요 is read [출발해써요].
Can It Take an Object?
Not in everyday speech. Formal announcements sometimes mark the starting place with 을/를, but in conversation use 에서.
What Is the Future Plan?
출발할 거예요.
Related Verbs
Next Steps
Read 도착하다 for the arrival end. 여행하다, 가다 and 돌아가다 are related words worth learning next.
To try other forms of 출발하다 yourself, open the Korean verb conjugator; all entries are listed in the verb dictionary.