I have some questions about using 出る and 出かける。

Question

If I were to create a sentences about going to the store, and I made the sentence 「店に出かける。」,「コンビニに出かける。」, and 「スパーに出かける。」would those make sense in Japanese? Also, is it true that if I used 出る instead of 出かける, would it mean that the person would never come back or can I use them interchangeably depending on the meaning I was going for? If I added more stuff like 「スパーで買い物に出かける」does that make any sense and is is correct?

Answer 1

「出る」 has the meaning of "moving (oneself) to the outside of" (somewhere/something). So if you are leaving from the home or building to the outside, you say 出る. It does not necessarily mean that you are going to permanently leave that place, but it can have such a meaning:

• 会社{かいしゃ}から出る - leave the company (this can also mean "physically leaving the building", which makes in temporary)
• 友達{ともだち}のチャットグループを出る - leave the chat group of a friend
• 大学{だいがく}を出る - leave (usually: graduate) the college

Please note that 出る can also mean other things:

• ドラマに出る - feature in a dorama
• オバケが出る - ghost(s) appear
• お尻{しり}が出る - the buttcheeks show/poke out
• 血{ち}が出る - bleed

「出かける」, on the other hand, only has one meaning, and it is "to leave, for a limited period of time, for a general purpose". It sounds unnatural to use for a specific purpose:

• 友達{ともだち}と映画{えいが}に出かける - this does not sound natural
• 海{うみ}へ、釣{つ}りに出かける - this does not sound natural

Use 出る for the examples above instead.

The two can be used interchangeably in some cases, but there will be a difference in nuance: 山へでる and 山へ出かける both translate to "to go out to the mountains", but in the latter it is implied that there is an intention of returning soon.

Also, please note that "super" (for supermarkets) is spelled 「スーパー」 in katakana.

I referred to this blog entry for some detailed informations.