If you've ever found yourself pausing mid-sentence, wondering whether to say voy, vengo, or llego, you're not alone. The Spanish verbs of motion ir, venir, and llegar can be tricky for English speakers. They all involve movement, but the one you choose completely depends on your perspective.
Don't worry! By the end of this post, you'll understand the core difference and be able to use these verbs with confidence. Let's dive in!
The Foundation: Ir (To Go)
Let's start with the most straightforward of the three: ir.
Ir means "to go" and describes movement away from the speaker's current location, or from one point to another where neither is the speaker's location.
Think of it as an arrow pointing away from you. If you are at home and talking about the supermarket, you use ir.
- Voy a la tienda. (I am going to the store.)
- ¿Quieres ir al cinethe movies conmigo? (Do you want to go to the movies with me?)
- Ellos van a la playa todos los veranos. (They go to the beach every summer.)
In all these cases, the movement is directed away from where the speaker is at the moment of speaking. Simple, right? For a deeper dive into this verb, check out our guide on the verb ir.
Conjugation Quickie
Remember that ir is an irregular verb! The present tense conjugation is: yo voy, tú vas, él/ella/ud. va, nosotros vamos, vosotros vais, ellos/ellas/uds. van.
The Counterpart: Venir (To Come)
Now for ir's opposite: venir.
Venir means "to come" and describes movement towards the speaker's current location.
This time, the arrow is pointing directly at you. If you are at a party and your friend is on their way, they use venir.
- Mi amigo viene a mi casa esta noche. (My friend is coming to my house tonight.)
- ¿Vienes a la fiesta? (Are you coming to the party? - said by someone already at the party)
- ¡Ya vengo! (I'm coming! - said by someone on their way to the speaker)
Ir vs. Venir: The Ultimate Showdown
The difference between ir and venir is all about the speaker's point of view. Let's look at the same situation from two different perspectives.
Imagine you are talking on the phone with your friend about their party tonight.
Drag the handle to compare
You use voy because you are going away from your current location. Your friend uses vienes because, from their perspective, you are coming towards them.
Let's test your understanding.
You are at the park. You call your friend and ask them to meet you. What do you say?
The Destination: Llegar (To Arrive)
So, if ir is going and venir is coming, where does llegar fit in?
Llegar means "to arrive" and focuses on the endpoint of a journey. It's not about the direction of travel, but the act of reaching a destination.
Whether you were going somewhere (ir) or coming somewhere (venir), the moment you get there is llegar.
- El tren llega a las cinco. (The train arrives at five.)
- Siempre llego tarde al trabajo. (I always arrive late to work.)
- ¿A qué hora llegaste a casa anoche? (What time did you arrive home last night?)
Llegar doesn't care about the starting point or the speaker's location. It only cares that the journey is complete. If you are interested in learning more about how to talk about time and events in the past, review our guides on the preterite tense and the imperfect tense.
Putting It All Together
You can use all three verbs to describe one trip!
- Voy al aeropuerto. (I go to the airport.) - The journey begins.
- Mi familia me espera. ¡Ya vengo! (My family is waiting. I'm coming!) - The movement is towards them.
- Finalmente, llego. (Finally, I arrive.) - The journey ends.
Practice Makes Perfect
Let's see if you can put a sentence together using what you've learned. Unscramble the words below!
Arrange the words to form a correct sentence:
Final Recap
Let's boil it down to a simple cheat sheet:
Ir(To Go): Movement AWAY from the speaker.- Voy a la oficina. (I'm going to the office.)
Venir(To Come): Movement TOWARDS the speaker.- ¿Vienes a la oficina? (Are you coming to the office?)
Llegar(To Arrive): Reaching a DESTINATION.- Llego a la oficina a las 9. (I arrive at the office at 9.)
Understanding the perspective of the speaker is the key. Once you master that, you'll never mix up these verbs again. ¡Buen trabajo! You can practice these verbs further by reading our A1 Spanish stories.