Commonly confused

Llevar vs Traer: take vs bring in Spanish

Llevar and traer are mirror verbs. Llevar means to take or carry something away from where you are; traer means to bring something toward where you are or where the listener is. The key is perspective — always ask: which direction is the movement?

Key distinction

Llevar = moving something away from the reference point; traer = moving something toward the reference point.

Present tense — side by side

llevar to carry / to take / to wear
yo llevo
tú llevas
él/ella lleva
nosotros llevamos
vosotros lleváis
ellos/ellas llevan
Full conjugation table →
traer to bring
yo traigo
tú traes
él/ella trae
nosotros traemos
vosotros traéis
ellos/ellas traen
Full conjugation table →

When to use llevar

Taking something away from your current location

  • Llevo el perro al parque. I'm taking the dog to the park.
  • ¿Puedes llevar esto a la oficina? Can you take this to the office?

Wearing or carrying something on your person

  • Lleva gafas. She wears glasses.
  • Llevaba un abrigo rojo. She was wearing a red coat.

Duration of time (llevar + gerund)

  • Llevo tres años estudiando español. I've been studying Spanish for three years.
  • ¿Cuánto tiempo llevas esperando? How long have you been waiting?

When to use traer

Bringing something toward where you or the listener currently are

  • ¿Puedes traer el vino? Can you bring the wine (here)?
  • Trae tu diccionario a clase. Bring your dictionary to class.

Bringing something that the other person will receive

  • Te traje un regalo. I brought you a gift.
  • Él trae noticias importantes. He brings important news.

Common mistakes to avoid

✗ ¿Puedes traer el paquete a correos? ✓ ¿Puedes llevar el paquete a correos?

The post office is away from you — you're taking it there, not bringing it toward you. Use llevar.

✗ Llevé flores cuando fui a su casa. ✓ Traje flores cuando fui a su casa.

You brought the flowers TO her — from her perspective (and yours in retrospect), they arrived with you. Use traer.

Memory trick

Traer contains the English word "transport to" hidden inside. Llevar — think of "deliver away". Or simply: traer = bring TO me; llevar = take AWAY from me.

Think in directions

Draw a dot for yourself. Traer is anything coming toward that dot; llevar is anything moving away from it. When you're on the phone and someone says ¿puedes traer pan?, they mean bring it here — to them. When they say ¿puedes llevar a los niños al colegio?, the school is the destination, not where the speaker is.

Llevar for duration

One of llevar's most useful constructions is llevar + time + gerund to express how long you've been doing something: Llevo dos horas esperando (I've been waiting for two hours). This construction has no equivalent with traer.

Wearing clothes

Use llevar (not traer, not ponerse) to describe what someone is wearing at a given moment: Lleva una camisa azul = He's wearing a blue shirt. Ponerse is the action of putting clothes on.

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