Lähdetään

Lähdetään is a Finnish verb form derived from lähteä, meaning to depart, to leave, or to start. In everyday use it functions as a present-tense, inclusive or impersonal form that expresses movement or initiation, and it is commonly translated into English as “let’s go” or “we are leaving.”

Grammatically, lähdetään is the third-person plural or impersonal form in the present tense of lähteä. It is often used without an explicit subject, carrying the sense of a collective decision or invitation. The phrase is frequently encountered in spoken Finnish as an exhortation or a plan shorthand, for example as an interjection such as Lähdetään! (“Let’s go!”). It can also occur within sentences to indicate a future departure, as in Lähdetään kotoa kahdeksalta (“We will depart from home at eight”).

In usage, Lähdetään reflects a sense of movement, purpose, or collective action. It appears in everyday conversation, travel contexts, sports team announcements, and organizational settings where a group is about to move or begin an activity. The expression is flexible and can be combined with time phrases or destinations, for example Lähdetään matkaan (“We’re setting off on a trip”).

In Finnish culture, the phrase has also appeared as a title or thematic element in music, literature, and media, leveraging its connotations of motion and initiation. Related terms include lähteä (to depart) and lähtö (departure or starting point).

See also: lähde, lähtö, lähtevät.