Traer vs Llevar: What’s the Difference?
Do you already know when to use traer vs llevar? Traer vs llevar are two verbs that are often confused by Spanish learners.
In the following situation, which sentence is correct?
Juan is at his house, and he notices that Ana has left her books there. He calls Ana right away and says:
Dejaste tus libros en mi casa. ¿Te las llevo mañana?
You left your books at my house. Shall I bring them to you tomorrow?
OR
Dejaste tus libros en mi casa. ¿Te las traigo mañana?
You left your books at my house. Shall I bring them to you tomorrow?
As you can see the English translation is exactly the same, but only one Spanish sentence is correct.
If you’re not sure which one, keep reading to learn the difference!
Traer vs Llevar – The Basics
Many people think that traer vs llevar is like “take” vs “bring.” The translation works in some cases but not always, as you’ve seen. To avoid confusion, you shouldn’t rely on this method.
What you need to take into consideration is the location of the speaker and where the object you’re talking about is going to be moved. To simplify things in the beginning, let’s assume the following distinction between traer vs llevar:
- traer – movement from there to here, towards the speaker
- llevar – movement from here to there, away from the speaker
Let’s now see both of these verbs in detail.
The Verb Traer – From There to Here
The verb traer translates to “to bring.” It means to bring something from there to here, in the direction of the speaker. If you can add the word aquí (here) and it fits, you’ve chosen the correct verb.
¿Me puedes traer mi falda del armario?
Can you bring me my skirt from the closet?
Nos puede traer el menú, por favor.
Can you bring us the menu, please?
El Santa Claus trae los regalos desde el Polo Norte.
Santa Clause brings the presents from the North Pole.
Before I give you more examples, let’s take a look at the conjugation of the verb traer in present, past, and future tenses.
Present Tense Conjugation Chart: Traer
Traer is irregular in the first person of the present tense conjugation.
| Spanish | English |
| yo traigo | I bring |
| tú traes | you bring |
| él, ella, usted trae | he, she, it brings (fml. you bring) |
| nosotros traemos | we bring |
| ustedes traen | you bring |
| ellos, ellas traen | they bring |
Preterite Tense Conjugation Chart: Traer
The verb traer is irregular in all forms of the Spanish preterite tense.
| Spanish | English |
| yo traje | I brought |
| tú trajiste | you brought |
| él, ella, usted trajo | he, she, it brought (fml. you brought) |
| nosotros trajimos | we brought |
| ustedes trajeron | you brought |
| ellos, ellas trajeron | they brought |
Future Tense Conjugation Chart: Traer
You’ll be happy to hear that traer is regular in all forms of the Spanish future simple tense.
| Spanish | English |
| yo traeré | I will bring |
| tú traerás | you will bring |
| él, ella, traerá | he, she, it will bring (fml. you will bring) |
| nosotros traeremos | we will bring |
| ustedes traerán | you will bring |
| ellos, ellas traerán | they will bring |
Example Sentences in Spanish
Nuestros hijos nos traen mucha alegría.
Our children bring us so much joy.
¿Qué te trae por aquí?
What brings you here?
Te traje un regalo.
I brought you a gift.
¿No me trajiste nada?
You didn’t bring me anything?
¿Qué me traerás de tu viaje?
What will you bring me from your trip?
Trae a tus amigos, ¿va?
Bring your friends, okay?
The Verb Llevar – From Here to There
The verb llevar translates to “to take,” but not always, so you have to be careful. It means to take something from here to there, away from the speaker. If you can add the word allí (there) and it fits, you have the correct verb.
¿Quieres llevar el libro a tu casa?
Do you want to take the book home?
Llévame contigo, por favor.
Take me with you, please.
Necesito llevar a mi hijo al doctor.
I need to take my son to the doctor.
¿Te llevo tu dinero mañana?
Shall I bring you your money tomorrow?
Before I give you more examples, let’s look at the conjugation of the verb llevar in present, past, and future tenses like I showed you with the verb traer.
Present Tense Conjugation Chart: Llevar
Llevar is a regular –ar verb in present tense conjugation.
| Spanish | English |
| yo llevo | I take |
| tú llevas | you take |
| él, ella, usted lleva | he, she, it takes (fml. you take) |
| nosotros llevamos | we take |
| ustedes llevan | you take |
| ellos, ellas llevan | they take |
Preterite Tense Conjugation Chart: Llevar
The verb llevar is regular in all forms of the Spanish preterite tense.
| Spanish | English |
| yo llevé | I took |
| tú llevaste | you took |
| él, ella, usted llevó | he, she, it took (fml. you took) |
| nosotros llevamos | we took |
| ustedes llevaron | you took |
| ellos, ellas llevaron | they took |
Future Tense Conjugation Chart: Llevar
Good news! Llevar is also regular in all forms of the Spanish future simple tense.
| Spanish | English |
| yo llevaré | I will take |
| tú llevarás | you will take |
| él, ella, llevará | he, she, it will take (fml. you will take) |
| nosotros llevaremos | we will take |
| ustedes llevarán | you will take |
| ellos, ellas llevarán | they will take |
Example Sentence in Spanish
Te lo llevo mañana.
I’ll bring it to you tomorrow.
Puedes llevárselo, por favor.
You can take it, please.
Mi padre me llevó a ver el mar.
My father took me to see the sea.
Nos llevaron a la oficina del director.
They took us to the principal’s office.
Tú llevarás los refrescos a la fiesta de Ana y yo el pastel.
You’ll bring the refreshments to Anna’s party and I’ll bring the cake.
Nosotros llevaremos las papas.
We’ll bring the potatoes.
Check Your Learning
Have you noticed how Spanish is stricter about the difference between traer vs. llevar than English is about “bring” vs “take”? In English, you often use “to bring” when you really should be using “to take.”
Now, do you remember the challenge from the beginning of this article? Which of the two sentences is correct in Spanish in terms of traer vs llevar?
Dejaste tus libros en mi casa. ¿Te las llevo mañana?
You left your books at my house. Shall I bring them to you tomorrow?
Dejaste tus libros en mi casa. ¿Te las traigo mañana?
You left your books at my house. Shall I bring them to you tomorrow?
Yes, it’s the first sentence that is correct. The movement is from here (Juan’s house) to there (Anna’s house), away from the speaker.
Traer vs. Llevar Quiz
I think you’re ready for the quiz on traer vs llevar. Choose which of the two verbs is correct in each situation.
1. Te ________ tus llaves mañana.
2. Me puedes ________ mi estuche.
3. No me ________ nada de la cafetería, ya desayuné.
4. ________ al final del mundo.
5. Pueden ________ sus perros a la excursión.
6. Creo que Santa no me ________ nada este año.
7. Mañana, ________ un regalo conjunto a la fiesta de Pedro.
8. ¿________ el perro al veterinario?
9. ¿________ tus apuntes para la clase de hoy?
10. Mesero, ¿me ________ el menú por favor?
Keep Practicing Traer vs Llevar
Great job! Your Spanish is now better than when you started reading the article. That’s progress! Keep up the rhythm, and you’ll get closer to fluency every single day.
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