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ir vs venir

English lets you say "I am coming" when you mean you will arrive at the other person. Spanish does not, and the mistake happens every single time.

ir

movement away from here

  • Voy a la oficina.
  • Vamos al cine.
  • Ya voy.
  • Va a casa de su madre.
  • Mañana vamos a Madrid.

venir

movement towards the speaker

  • Ven aquí.
  • Viene a mi casa.
  • ¿Vienes conmigo?
  • Vienen de Chile.
  • Mi hermana viene mañana.

Quick answer

ir = to go, movement away from where the speaker is.
venir = to come, movement towards where the speaker is right now.

Rule of thumb: venir only points at the speaker. If you are moving to where your listener is, Spanish still uses ir.

Side by side

—¿Vienes a la fiesta? —Sí, voy.Are you coming to the party? Yes, I am — the host says venir, the guest answers with ir.
Ven aquí un momento.Come here for a second — movement towards the person speaking.
Voy contigo al médico.I'll come with you to the doctor — English says come, Spanish uses ir because neither of you is there yet.

Memory trick

Before you pick the verb, ask: does the movement end where I am standing as I speak? Only then is it venir. Everything else is ir.

Typical mistakes

Vengo a tu casa esta noche.

Voy a tu casa esta noche.

You are not at your friend's house yet, so the movement goes away from you. Spanish needs ir even though English says "I am coming over".

Ya vengo, espérame en la puerta.

Ya voy, espérame en la puerta.

Someone calls you and you set off towards them. From your own position that is movement away, so ya voy. Ya vengo exists but means "I'll be right back".

Check yourself

Your friend calls from the restaurant. You answer: "Ya ___, cinco minutos."

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