lähdet

Lähdet is the second-person singular present indicative form of the Finnish verb lähteä, meaning to leave or depart. It is used to address someone directly and indicate that that person is leaving or starting to go somewhere.

In Finnish, verbs inflect for person and number, so lähdet corresponds to "sinä lähdet" (you depart). The related forms in the present tense include minä lähden (I depart), hän lähtee (he/she leaves), me lähdemme (we depart), te lähdette (you all depart), and he lähtevät (they depart). Lähdet is commonly used in everyday speech, including questions such as "Lähdetkö nyt?" (Are you leaving now?) and statements like "Sinä lähdet tänään matkalle" (You are leaving for a trip today).

Usage notes: Lähteä can refer to leaving a place, such as a home or station, or to starting an activity or journey. The meaning is determined by context and often by the accompanying object or prepositional phrase, for example "lähdet matkalle" (leave on a trip) or "lähdet töihin" (leave for work).

Relation to related forms: The noun lähtiö/lähtö means departure or onset, but it is a different word with a distinct grammatical role. Lähdet itself is strictly a verb form, not a noun. Finnish learners often encounter it together with other present-tense forms of lähteä to understand how person and number influence meaning.

In summary, lähdet is the everyday second-person form used to say that you are leaving or about to leave, forming part of the broader verb family built around lähteä.