• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
ask Dr Zag

ask Dr Zag

Questions & Facts

  • Local questions
  • Topics
  • Ask
  • Reset location
  • Set location

What's the difference between 'llevar' and 'tomar' in Spanish?

Last updated January 15, 2023 by ZagBot Comment

The Spanish verbs ‘llevar’ and ‘tomar’ can both be translated as ‘to take’ in English but have different meanings and are only interchangeable in a limited number of use cases.

Use ‘llevar’ in situations when one is taking, by way of carrying, something from one place to another or taking someone to somewhere or an event. For example:

Llevo a mi hermano al aeropuerto
I’m taking my brother to the airport

El camarero lleva los platos a la cocina
The waiter takes the plates to the kitchen

¿A quién llevas a la fiesta?
Who are you taking to the party?

When ordering food or coffee to-go or takeaway, “para llevar” is used to indicate it’s being carried away rather than consumed on the premises.

Use ‘tomar’ when describing taking in something by mouth such as food, drink, or medicine, and also when taking modes of transport such as a bus, train, plane, or taking a particular road or street on a route. It can also be used to describe grabbing or taking an object in hand, taking some rays (i.e. sunbathing), taking photographs, taking a test, taking decisions and choosing an option when presented with more than one. For example:

Voy a tomar una cerveza
I’m going to have a beer

Ella tomó un taxi al hotel
She took a taxi to the hotel

Es tarde y necesitamos tomar una decisión
It’s late and we need to make a decision

Había muchos sombreros en la tienda. Tomé el azul
There were many hats in the store. I took the blue one

¿Tomaste el sol en la playa?
Did you sunbathe on the beach?

The Spanish idiomatic expression tomar el pelo means to grab the hair and is similar to ‘pulling someone’s leg’ in English when trying to tease, deceive or trick another person.

Leave a Review Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Select a rating

Primary Sidebar

Topic Categories

  • Abbotsford
  • Ahmedabad
  • Akron
  • Albany
  • Alcobendas
  • Amersham
  • Amsterdam
  • Anaheim
  • Andover
  • Ann Arbor
  • Annapolis
  • Ardmore
  • Arlington
  • Aspen
  • Atlanta
  • Auburn
  • Auckland
  • Augusta
  • Austin
  • Avon
  • Bala
  • Baltimore
  • Banff
  • Bangor
  • Barcelona
  • Beacon
  • Beaumaris
  • Beaverton
  • Bellingham
  • Berkeley
  • Big Sur
  • Binghamton
  • Blanchardstown
  • Bodø
  • Boise
  • Boston
  • Boulder
  • Boulder City
  • Bratislava
  • Brentwood Bay
  • Bridgeport
  • Brighton
  • Buenos Aires
  • Buffalo
  • Buñol
  • Caernarfon
  • Calabasas
  • Calgary
  • Cambridge
  • Camrose
  • Canmore
  • Cañon City
  • Carson
  • Carson City
  • Cascade
  • Chantilly
  • Charlotte
  • Chester
  • Cheyenne
  • Chicago
  • Chico
  • Cincinnati
  • Clear Lake
  • Clemson
  • Coeur d'Alene
  • Coffin Bay
  • Colma
  • Cook County
  • Corby
  • Cortlandt
  • Cranberry Township
  • Crystal River
  • Custer
  • Dallas
  • Daly City
  • Daytona Beach
  • Deeside
  • Deming
  • Denton
  • Denver
  • Des Moines
  • Detroit
  • Dibrugarh
  • Dirk Hartog Island
  • Dobbs Ferry
  • Doune
  • Downpatrick
  • Dubai
  • Dudley
  • Durham
  • East Rutherford
  • Edmonton
  • Eindhoven
  • Ellesmere Port
  • Elmhurst
  • Elmont
  • Emeryville
  • Eugene
  • Evanston
  • Fairfield
  • Falmouth
  • Fernie
  • Fiumicino
  • Florence
  • Forney
  • Fort Collins
  • Foster City
  • Fox Island
  • Fremont
  • Frisco
  • Furry Creek
  • Gablenz
  • Gateshead
  • Gatlinburg
  • Ghent
  • Glendale
  • Gold Coast
  • Gqeberha
  • Grand Prairie
  • Granollers
  • Halifax
  • Hamilton
  • Hanksville
  • Harrington Park
  • Hawthorne
  • Helsinki
  • Hillsborough
  • Hoboken
  • Holyhead
  • Hounslow
  • Houston
  • Humboldt
  • Hunter
  • Huntington Beach
  • Indianapolis
  • Inglewood
  • Interior
  • Ithaca
  • Jasper
  • Jerez de la Frontera
  • Jersey City
  • Kalamazoo
  • Kamloops
  • Kennebunk
  • Key West
  • Keystone
  • Kinloch
  • Lake Havasu City
  • Lake Louise
  • Lanark
  • Las Vegas
  • Leavenworth
  • Leeds
  • Lexington
  • Little Current
  • Littleton
  • Liverpool
  • Llandudno
  • Llanfairpwllgwyngyll
  • Lockerbie
  • Logan Lake
  • Lompoc
  • London
  • Lone Pine
  • Lonoke
  • Los Altos
  • Los Angeles
  • Los Olivos
  • Macclesfield
  • Mackinac Island
  • Mackinaw City
  • Maidstone
  • Mainz
  • Manchester
  • Manhattan Beach
  • Marshall
  • Maryland Heights
  • Marysville
  • Matsue
  • Melbourne
  • Memphis
  • Menai Bridge
  • Mendocino
  • Menlo Park
  • Miami
  • Miami Gardens
  • Mill Valley
  • Millbrae
  • Milwaukee
  • Minneapolis
  • Mississauga
  • Mobridge
  • Monaco
  • Moneta
  • Montauk
  • Monterey
  • Montgomery
  • Montreal
  • Morrisville
  • Morro Bay
  • Mountain View
  • Muir Beach
  • Munich
  • Myrtle Beach
  • Nantucket
  • New London
  • New Orleans
  • New Rochelle
  • New Westminster
  • New York
  • Newark
  • Nice
  • Nipigon
  • Nitra
  • Norfolk
  • North Salem
  • North Vancouver
  • Nutley
  • Oakham
  • Oakland
  • Ocean City
  • Old Westbury
  • Olympia
  • Opelika
  • Orlando
  • Oroville
  • Ottawa
  • Palmdale
  • Palo Alto
  • Paris
  • Paxton
  • Peekskill
  • Pensacola
  • Perth
  • Petaluma
  • Philadelphia
  • Pike Road
  • Piru
  • Pittsburgh
  • Pollença
  • Port Angeles
  • Port de Pollença
  • Port Renfrew
  • Portland
  • Pozuelo de Alarcón
  • Pretoria
  • Providence
  • Raleigh
  • Rapid City
  • Red Deer
  • Renton
  • Revelstoke
  • Rhyl
  • Richmond
  • Rockland
  • Rome
  • Ronkonkoma
  • Roslyn
  • Sacramento
  • Saint George
  • Saint Louis
  • Saint Paul
  • San Bruno
  • San Carlos
  • San Clemente
  • San Diego
  • San Francisco
  • San Jose
  • San Luis Obispo
  • San Mateo
  • San Quentin
  • Sanford
  • Sanibel
  • Santa Clara
  • Santa Clarita
  • Santiago de Chile
  • Saugerties
  • Sausalito
  • Seattle
  • Secaucus
  • Seville
  • Shandon
  • Sherwood
  • Snoqualmie
  • South San Francisco
  • Southampton
  • Southlake
  • Sparks
  • Spokane
  • Stanford
  • Sterling
  • Stinson Beach
  • Stockholm
  • Stockport
  • Stowe
  • Surrey
  • Swords
  • Sydney
  • Syracuse
  • Tacloban
  • Tacoma
  • Tallahassee
  • Talybont
  • Tampa
  • Täsch
  • Teruel
  • Thousand Oaks
  • Tiburon
  • Topsail Beach
  • Toronto
  • Troy
  • Truckee
  • Tucson
  • Turin
  • Ty Croes
  • University Place
  • Vacaville
  • Vail
  • Valladolid
  • Vance
  • Vancouver
  • Venice
  • Victoria
  • View Royal
  • Waco
  • Walnut Creek
  • Warrington
  • Washington, DC
  • Waukegan
  • Wembley
  • Wertheim
  • Westminster
  • Whistler
  • White Plains
  • Winnetka
  • Winnipeg
  • Winterset
  • Woodside
  • Yale
  • Yonkers
  • Youngstown
  • Yountville

Footer

About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • FAQ
FAQ
  • Login
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy policy
  • Community guidelines

Copyright © 2023 Petryal

  • Terms and Conditions
Change Location
Find awesome listings near you!