выйти / выехать

Exiting

Level 3Sounds Like vyjti / vyehatʹ

The prefix вы- means 'out'. Use выйти for walking out and выехать for driving out. These verbs focus on the moment of crossing a threshold.

How It Works

The verbs выходить/выйти (on foot) and выезжать/выехать (by vehicle) are essential for describing the act of leaving an enclosed area.

1. Aspect and Stress:

  • Imperfective: выходить / выезжать. The prefix вы- is never stressed in the imperfective; the stress falls on the suffix (выходи́ть, выезжа́ть). These are used for ongoing processes or repeated actions.
  • Perfective: выйти / выехать. In the perfective, the prefix вы- is always stressed (вы́йти, вы́ехать). These are used for a single completed exit.

2. Preposition Symmetry:
To choose the correct preposition, remember the standard pairs for entering and exiting:

  • в (into) ↔ из (out of): Use из + Genitive when exiting a container or building (e.g., из дома, из магазина).
  • на (onto) ↔ с (off of): Use с + Genitive when leaving an event or a surface (e.g., с работы, с площади).
  • на + Accusative: Often used to indicate the destination of the exit (e.g., выйти на улицу, выйти на балкон).

3. Nuance vs. Departure:
While уйти / уехать means to leave a location entirely (departure), выйти / выехать focuses on the physical act of crossing a boundary. In a social context, "Он вышел" often implies he just stepped out for a moment and will return shortly.

Examples (4)

  1. Он вышел из комнаты, не сказав ни слова.

    He walked out of the room without saying a word.

    Word by Word: He walked-out from room, not having-said no word.

    Uses the perfective 'вышел' to show a completed action of exiting a room.

  2. Машина выехала из гаража и повернула налево.

    The car drove out of the garage and turned left.

    Word by Word: Car drove-out from garage and turned left.

    Uses 'выехала' because the subject is a vehicle exiting a bounded space.

  3. Вы выходите на следующей остановке?

    Are you getting off at the next stop?

    Word by Word: You are-exiting on next stop?

    This is the standard phrase used on Russian public transport to ask if someone is exiting.

  4. Я выйду на балкон подышать свежим воздухом.

    I will go out onto the balcony to breathe some fresh air.

    Word by Word: I will-exit onto balcony to-breathe fresh air.

    Uses the preposition 'на' because a balcony is considered an open space.

Common Mistakes

  • Misplacing the stress in perfective forms.

    Он вышéл из дома.
    Он вы́шел из дома.

    In Russian, the prefix вы- is always stressed in perfective verbs. It is never 'вышéл' or 'выйти́'.

  • Using 'выйти' to mean leaving an object behind.

    Я вышел ключи в офисе.
    Я оставил ключи в офисе.

    Выйти is a verb of motion for people/vehicles. To leave an object behind, use the verb 'оставить'.

  • Using 'от' instead of 'из' for exiting a building.

    Он вышел от здания.
    Он вышел из здания.

    The prefix вы- (out of) corresponds with the preposition 'из' (from inside). 'От' means 'away from' the exterior.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

выйти / выехатьLevel 3Exiting

Learn This First

To understand 'выйти' and 'выехать', learners need to know how to express the source of movement using the preposition 'из' with the genitive case. Additionally, since these are perfective verbs often used to describe completed actions, familiarity with past tense conjugation and the 'where from' question word is essential.

Words in This Pattern

вы-выйтивыехать