Traer vs. llevar

¿What’s the difference between traer and llevar?

Traer means to bring something (or someone) “here,” while llevar means to carry, to “transport from point A to point B,” or “to bring something (or someone) to a place other than the place where the speaker is located.”

Here are some examples:

Traer

Generally, we only use traer when the destination of the object (or person) being transported is “here,” the place where we are.

¿Me vas a traer un regalo de España? - Will you bring me a present from Spain?

¿Quién trajo la tarta? - Who brought the cake?

¿Vas al supermercado? ¿Me puedes traer una cebolla? - Are you going to the supermarket? Can you bring me an onion?

Llevar

We use llevar when the destination of the object (or person) being transported is different from the place where we are right now, even though in English we would still prefer to use to bring for most cases:

Olvidaste tus llaves en mi casa, ¿quieres que te las lleve esta noche? - You forgot your keys in my house, would you like me to bring them to you tonight?

Para la fiesta, ¿quieres que lleve una botella de vino, o prefieres que lleve una tarta? - For the party, should I bring a bottle of wine, or should I rather bring a cake?

¿Quieres que te lleve al aeropuerto? - ¿Would you like me to take you to the airport?

Practice

1. Imagine three scenarios where person A asks person B to bring something to the place where person A is located. Write a conversation between person A and person B, in English, for each scenario. Translate the conversations into Spanish (using traer).

2. Imagine three scenarios where person A asks person B to bring something to a place other than the place where person A is located. Write a conversation between person A and person B, in English, for each scenario. Translate the conversations into Spanish (using llevar).