Ich muss jetzt weggehen.

Modern standard German writes this word as muss.

Older spelling used muß, but after the spelling reform, muss is the standard form. You will still sometimes see muß in older books or texts, but learners should use muss.

Muss is the 1st person singular form of müssen, which means to have to or must.

So:

• ich muss = I must / I have to

In this sentence, it expresses necessity or obligation: the speaker feels they need to leave.

German main clauses usually put the conjugated verb in the second position.

Here, the subject comes first:

• Ich = subject
• muss = conjugated verb in second position

So the basic structure is:

• Ich muss jetzt weggehen.

This is very normal German word order.

You could also move another element to the front for emphasis:

• Jetzt muss ich weggehen. = Now I have to leave.

In that version, muss still stays in second position.

Because muss is a modal verb, and in German, modal verbs usually send the other verb to the end of the clause in its infinitive form.

So:

• muss = conjugated modal verb
• weggehen = infinitive at the end

This is a very common pattern:

• Ich muss arbeiten.
• Du kannst kommen.
• Wir wollen essen.

So Ich muss jetzt weggehen follows a standard rule.

Weggehen is a verb made of:

• weg- = away
• gehen = to go

So it means something like:

• to go away
• to leave
• to head off

In this sentence, it means the speaker is leaving their current place or situation.

Depending on context, weggehen can also mean to go out socially, but here I have to leave is the natural meaning.

Yes. Weggehen is a separable verb.

That means in a normal present-tense main clause, the prefix separates:

• Ich gehe jetzt weg. = I’m leaving now.

But when the verb is in the infinitive, as it is after muss, it stays together:

• Ich muss jetzt weggehen.

So:

• finite verb form: geht ... weg
• infinitive form: weggehen

This is a very important pattern in German.

Yes, absolutely.

• Ich gehe jetzt weg. = I’m leaving now.
• Ich muss jetzt weggehen. = I have to leave now.

The difference is that muss adds the idea of necessity. It suggests:

• there is a reason
• the speaker does not feel completely free to stay
• they need to go now

Without muss, the sentence is more neutral and simply states the action.

Jetzt means now.

It tells you when the action is happening or needs to happen. In this sentence, it adds urgency or immediacy:

• Ich muss weggehen. = I have to leave.
• Ich muss jetzt weggehen. = I have to leave now.

So jetzt makes it clear that the leaving is not for later.

Yes. German word order is flexible, as long as the conjugated verb stays in second position in a main clause.

For example:

• Ich muss jetzt weggehen.
• Jetzt muss ich weggehen.

Both are correct.

The difference is mainly emphasis:

• Ich muss jetzt weggehen sounds neutral.
• Jetzt muss ich weggehen puts more emphasis on now.

Because weggehen is a single verb, not two separate independent words.

When it appears as an infinitive after a modal verb, it stays together:

• correct: Ich muss jetzt weggehen.
• incorrect: Ich muss jetzt gehen weg.

If the verb is conjugated in a main clause, then the prefix separates:

• Ich gehe jetzt weg.

So the placement depends on whether the verb is:

• infinitive → weggehen
• conjugated main verb → gehe ... weg

No, not exactly.

Muss is pronounced roughly like moos with a short vowel, not like English moose with a long oo sound.

A rough guide:

• muss sounds approximately like mus in muss up, but with a clearer German u
• weggehen has stress on weg

Very roughly:

• Ich muss jetzt weggehen
• sounds like: ikh mooss yetst vek-gay-en

That is only an approximation, but it may help.

It is neutral and completely natural in everyday German.

It can be used in both informal and formal situations, depending on tone and context. For example, you could say it:

• to friends
• at work
• when ending a conversation
• when excusing yourself politely

If you want to sound a bit softer or more polite, you might also hear:

• Ich muss jetzt leider weggehen. = I unfortunately have to leave now.
• Ich muss jetzt los. = I have to go now.

Yes. A very common everyday alternative is:

• Ich muss jetzt los.

This often sounds more natural in casual spoken German than Ich muss jetzt weggehen.

The difference is:

• weggehen focuses on leaving / going away
• los in this expression means something like get going

So in many real-life situations, Germans would more often say:

• Ich muss jetzt los.

But Ich muss jetzt weggehen is still correct and understandable.