Llevar v. Traer

Llevar is one of the most important verbs in Spanish. It can mean a multitude of things: to take, to wear, to carry, to transport, etc. (Llevar is also used for a lot of idiomatic expressions in Spanish which will hopefully be covered at another time.)

Traer, meanwhile, is most commonly translated as "to bring". (Remember: traer is an irregular verb in most Spanish verb tenses. For the conjugations of traer, click here).

So llevar= to take, while traer= to bring, right? Yes. But if you are literally translating the words, then you will find yourself wrong 50% of the time.

While "taking" and "bringing" are often used interchangeably in English, it's not the same case in Spanish.

For example, in English you can say the following sentences:

1. I'm bringing my son to the doctor's.

2. I'm taking my son to the doctor's.

Both sentences mean the same thing.

But in Spanish, you can only say the following:

1. Llevo mi hijo al médico.

Why does only llevar work and not traer? Why would the sentence "Traigo mi hijo al médico" not be considered correct?

In Spanish, you cannot bring something or somebody (traer algo o alguien) if it's already in the location of the speaker. Instead, of "bringing" it, you are "taking" it with you. Thus, llevar has to be used.

1. I have to take these books to the library. - Tengo que llevar esos libros a la biblioteca.
2. She used to take her kids to school every day. - Ella llevaba a sus hijos a la escuela todos los días.

So when are you supposed to use traer? Traer should only be used when something that is away from the speaker is being brought toward the speaker.

1. Could you bring me a glass of red wine, please? - ¿Me trae una copa de vino tinto, por favor?
2. Where is the newspaper that you had brought to me? - ¿Dónde está el periódico que me habías traído?

In a nutshell:

Llevar is away from the speaker's location, while traer is toward the speaker's location.

* Use llevar when an object is being moved from the location of the speaker to another location. (to take away from the speaker)

* Use traer when an object is being moved from another location to the location of the speaker (to bring toward the speaker)

Interesting notes:

* When you are ordering at a fast-food restaurant, you will commonly here the question, ¿Para [comer] aquí o para llevar?, which means, For here or to go? In this case, you use llevar because you would be taking the food away from the restaurant (your current location) to another location.

* Emphasizing llevar as "to take away" instead of just "to take" can help you when deciding between using llevar and tomar (another verb for "to take"). When in doubt, ask yourself if you can add "away" to the sentence and it would still make sense. If so, use llevar. If not, then your choice is tomar. (Though make sure not to forgot about another verb sacar, which means to take out something or to take photos).