How do you say "When do we leave?" in Chinese?

"When do we leave?" in Chinese is 什么时候出发？ — written in pinyin as Shénme shíhou chūfā?. It is a travel phrase you would use in China.

What does 什么时候出发？ mean in Chinese?

什么时候出发？ (Shénme shíhou chūfā?) means "When do we leave?". Broken down word by word: 什么 (shénme) means "what"; 时候 (shíhou) means "time / moment"; 出发 (chūfā) means "to set off".

When would you use "When do we leave?" in Chinese?

Use it on a tour, in a hired car or with a group when nobody has told you the departure time yet and you need to plan your morning around it. It is also the question for a bus or train station where the boards are not in English, and for the moment a driver says 等一下 — wait a bit — since that answer can mean ten minutes or two hours.

How to say “When do we leave?” in Chinese

“When do we leave?” in Chinese is 什么时候出发？, written in pinyin as Shénme shíhou chūfā?.

什么时候出发？

Shénme shíhou chūfā?

When do we leave?

Word by word

What each part of 什么时候出发？ actually means.

什么shénmewhat
时候shíhoutime / moment
出发chūfāto set off

When you use it

Use it on a tour, in a hired car or with a group when nobody has told you the departure time yet and you need to plan your morning around it.
It is also the question for a bus or train station where the boards are not in English, and for the moment a driver says 等一下 — wait a bit — since that answer can mean ten minutes or two hours.

Use 什么时候出发？ in travel situations. Airports, trains, directions and asking for help.

Other ways people say it

The same idea, said differently. Roughly in the order you'll hear them.

几点出发？
Jǐ diǎn chūfā?
What time do we leave?
几点 asks for a clock time, while 什么时候 leaves it open.
我们什么时候走？
Wǒmen shénme shíhou zǒu?
When are we heading off?
走 is the everyday verb for leaving; 出发 is the one printed on timetables.
还要等多久？
Hái yào děng duōjiǔ?
How much longer do we wait?
The follow-up to use when the first answer turns out to be vague.

What usually trips people up

走 means leaving, not departing on a schedule. 什么时候走 covers a person heading off, so keep 出发 for the official departure of a bus, train or tour.
If you are the one being asked, a bare number is not an answer. 八 is "eight", 八点 is "eight o'clock", and only the second one answers this question.
Chinese has no future tense, so the same sentence covers today and next week. Add 明天 or 后天 when the day matters.

What you might hear back

八点出发。Bā diǎn chūfāWe leave at eight.
马上就走。Mǎshàng jiù zǒuWe're leaving right now.
等人齐了再说。Děng rén qí le zài shuōOnce everyone's here.

Common questions

How do you say "When do we leave?" in Chinese?: "When do we leave?" in Chinese is 什么时候出发？ — written in pinyin as Shénme shíhou chūfā?. It is a travel phrase you would use in China.
What does 什么时候出发？ mean in Chinese?: 什么时候出发？ (Shénme shíhou chūfā?) means "When do we leave?". Broken down word by word: 什么 (shénme) means "what"; 时候 (shíhou) means "time / moment"; 出发 (chūfā) means "to set off".
When would you use "When do we leave?" in Chinese?: Use it on a tour, in a hired car or with a group when nobody has told you the departure time yet and you need to plan your morning around it. It is also the question for a bus or train station where the boards are not in English, and for the moment a driver says 等一下 — wait a bit — since that answer can mean ten minutes or two hours.

Where you'll use it

什么时候出发？ comes up in these situations, in this order.

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