Palabra Lexi · common words in Spanish
How to say "to go" in Spanish
"To go" in Spanish is ir, pronounced eer.
| Spanish | ir |
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| Pronunciation | eer |
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| Meaning | to go |
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| Part of speech | verb |
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| Frequency | #49 in the Palabra list of common Spanish words |
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Pronunciation is spelled out in English, one syllable at a time, with the stressed syllable in capitals. The speaker button uses your browser's built-in Spanish voice.
How to pronounce ir
Ir is pronounced eer, in IPA /ˈiɾ/. Ir has one syllable, so there is no stress to place.
Listen: normal and slow speed, in your browser's Spanish voice. IPA: Wiktionary, CC BY-SA.
Example sentences
Voy a casa
I'm going home
Ella va a ir contigo.
She is going to go with you.
¿Vas a ir al parque?
Are you going to go to the park?
"To go" in Spain and Latin America
Useful phrases
- ¡Vamos!
Let's go! - Voy a comer.
I'm going to eat (ir a + verb talks about the near future).
Regional words and roots: Diccionario de la lengua española (RAE). Spanish varies by region, so treat these as the most common patterns, not strict rules.
How to remember ir
ir [eer] sounds like the English “ear”. Picture this:
You follow your ear: it hears music three streets away and your feet just go.
A sound-alike plus a vivid scene is the keyword method, a well-studied way to learn vocabulary. How it works.
Practice ir
Two quick games, right here: no sign-up, nothing is sent anywhere.
| Presente (present) | Pretérito indefinido (past) |
|---|
| yo | voy | fui |
| tú | vas | fuiste |
| él/ella | va | fue |
| nosotros | vamos | fuimos |
| vosotros | vais | fuisteis |
| ellos/ellas | van | fueron |
Verb forms: Wiktionary via UniMorph, CC BY-SA 3.0. Full ir conjugation: all tenses, with practice →
Word web: ir
Words that live next to ir in the Palabra word web, each with its own English sound-alike and scene. Learning them together makes each one easier to recall.
voy — I go
Sounds like “boy”. A boy runs excitedly out the door, shouting that he is going somewhere fun right now.
vas — you go
Sounds like “vase”. You carry a fragile vase carefully as you go walking slowly down the long hallway.
va — he/she goes
Sounds like “vah”. You wave and say 'Vah!' as your friend goes running off down the street.
vamos — we go / let's go
Sounds like “vamos (bus)”. A group waves and shouts "vamos!" as they board the bus together to go somewhere.
iba — I/he was going
Sounds like “eeba”. Picture someone chanting 'Eeba, eeba!' while marching steadily forward, going on and on.
ida — departure / outward trip
Sounds like “idea”. An idea forms as a traveler buys a one-way ticket for the outward trip, going forth.
idas y venidas — comings and goings
Sounds like “eedas ee beneedas”. Picture people constantly saying 'eedas' as they leave and 'beneedas' as they return, endless comings and goings.
ido — gone (past participle)
Sounds like “eedo”. You look at an empty room and gasp 'Eedo!' realizing everyone has already gone.
vayamos — let us go (subjunctive)
Sounds like “by-ya-mos”. Friends shout 'BY, YA'LL, MOSS-covered cave, let's go!' as they head off together into the woods.