Traer (to bring) vs. Llevar (to take) in Spanish - What's the Confusion?

Many non-native Spanish speakers get confused by the verbs traer and llevar. This is because in English (and maybe in other languages) we sometimes incorrectly use these verbs.

For example, I might say I'm bringing a friend to the mall, instead of I'm taking a friend to the mall. To bring means to move or transport something or someone from a place other than where you are to where you are, whilst to take means to take or move something or someone from where you currently are to another place.

Confused yet? Ha! Let's conjugate the two verbs:

Traer is a go verb meaning the yo (I) form ends in go. The other conjugations have normal -ER verb endings.

Yo traigo - I bring
Tú traes - you bring
Él/ella/usted trae - he/she/you (formal) bring(s)
Nosotros(as) traemos - we bring
Vosotros(as) traéis - you all (Spain) bring
Ustedes/ellos(as) traen- You all (Latin America + Spain (formal)/ they bring

Llevar is a regular -AR verb, so it takes those endings.

Yo llevo - I take
tú llevas - you take
él/ella/usted lleva - he/she/you(formal) take(s)
nosotros(as) llevamos -we take
vosotros(as) lleváis - you all (Spain) take
ellos(as)/ustedes llevan - they/you all (Latina America and Spain (formal)) take

I will show you some examples in Spanish and translate them so that you get a better understanding.

1. Yo te llevo tu almuerzo = I take your lunch to you (to where you currently are).
2. Tú me traes mi almuerzo = You bring my lunch to me (from where you are).
3. Ellos llevan el carro al taller = They take the car to the shop. (from somewhere else)
4. Ellos traen el carro aquí (al taller) = They bring the car here (to the shop, where I currently am).
5. Nosotros llevamos el dinero al banco. = We take the money to the bank.
6. Nosotros traemos el café en unos minutos. = We bring coffee back in a few minutes. (We are going out to get coffee and then we bring it back).

I hope this lesson helped you out a bit, I know this topic can be a bit confusing. In English, we generally accept the verb to bring in either case, whereas in Spanish, it doesn't sound right.

@vegansilverstack