Movement can lead to a higher or lower place.

The idea

Subir describes upward movement; bajar describes downward movement.

Patterns to compare
VerboDirección
subirhacia arriba
bajarhacia abajo

Examples

  • El gato sube al tejado.The cat climbs onto the roof.
  • Bajamos por la escalera.We go down the stairs.
  • Ella sube la colina.She climbs the hill.
  • El ascensor baja al sótano.The lift goes down to the basement.
  • Los niños suben al árbol.The children climb the tree.
  • Bajo de la montaña despacio.I descend the mountain slowly.

Read-aloud uses a synthetic Spanish voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.

Watch out

Do not confuse climbing with descending: check the direction.

Try it yourself

  1. Choose the action that fits. Vamos del suelo al piso superior. Vamos a ___ las escaleras. (subir / bajar)

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    subir

    subir: the destination is higher.

  2. Choose the action that fits. Estamos arriba y vamos al piso inferior. Vamos a ___ las escaleras. (subir / bajar)

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    bajar

    bajar: the destination is lower.

  3. Choose the action that fits. El ascensor va del primer piso al tercero. El ascensor ___. (sube / baja)

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    sube

    sube: the lift moves upwards.

Use it today

Describe a journey up and then down again.