Different usages of 出てくれる


出る literally means to leave or to go out.

In a conversation I heard it being used in "ちょっと手が離さないから、出てくれる" a request to
check the door after the bell rang. Without knowing the context I would
interpret this as "can you get out for me?", but this is clearly not the case.

Does 出る have other meanings / does the meaning of 出る change when used in an
expression?




Firstly, it should be 「[手]{て}が[離]{はな} **せ** ない」 instead of 「手が離 **さ** ない」. It
should be in the negative potential form.

Secondly, 「[出]{で}る」 does **not** always mean "to leave" or "to go out" and
that is exactly the origin of your misunderstanding this time.

You can say:

「[電話]{でんわ}に出る」 = "to answer the phone" ← This is close to the usage in your
sentence.

「テレビに出る」 = "to appear on TV" ← Very different from "to leave", right?

**Here, 「出る」 means "to reply (to the bell that rang)".**

Thus, 「出てくれる？」 means "Can you get that?", with "that" referring to the bell.
It must be said with a rising intonation towards the end.

**_"I'm busy now: Can you get that (for me)?"_** The speaker is asking the
other person to go to the door to see who it is (and do whatever is needed to
be done).

