weggaan

Weggaan is a Dutch verb meaning to leave or to go away, often referring to leaving a place rather than simply departing from a situation. It can describe physical movement, such as leaving a room, house, or city, and can also be used figuratively to indicate ceasing participation or disappearing from sight.

Grammar and usage

Weggaan is a separable prefix verb. In the present tense the prefix can detach: ik ga weg, jij gaat weg, wij gaan weg, jullie gaan weg, zij gaan weg. In simple past (imperfect) forms the verb also appears with the root gaan: ik ging weg, jij ging weg, hij ging weg, wij gingen weg. For the perfect tenses, weggaan uses the auxiliary hebben or zijn depending on construction, but most common is with zijn: hij is weggegaan, ze zijn weggegaan. The past participle is weggegaan and is written as one word in standard Dutch.

Typical constructions include weggaan uit een plek of huis (to leave a place or home) and weggaan uit een situatie (to move away from a situation). The verb is intransitive and does not take a direct object.

Related terms and contrasts

Weggaan is often contrasted with vertrekken (to depart, more formal) and verlaten (to abandon or leave behind). Use van or uit can specify the source location, as in weggaan uit de kamer or weggaan van het station. In informal speech, weggaan can carry a sense of abruptness or finality, depending on context.

Etymology

The word combines weg (away) with gaan (to go), producing a compound that expresses moving away from a place. It is an established part of the Dutch verb system and widely used in everyday language.