Spanish for 'To Take' | Pick The Right Verb Each Time

Spanish uses tomar, llevar, sacar, and a few others for “to take,” depending on what happens to the object.

If you searched Spanish for ‘To Take’, you probably wanted one tidy translation you can use anywhere. Spanish won’t do that. English packs a lot of meanings into “take,” and Spanish uses different verbs to name those meanings. Once you match the verb to the action, your Spanish sounds sharper and you stop second-guessing mid-sentence.

Spanish for ‘To Take’ in real life: one English verb, many Spanish choices

Before you pick a verb, ask one plain question: what are you doing with the thing? Are you drinking it, carrying it to a destination, pulling it out of a place, or grabbing it with your hand? Spanish picks the verb that names that action.

Start with the action in your head

Consume (food, drink, medicine) → tomar
Carry or bring along (from here to there) → llevar
Take out / obtain / snap (out of a place, money, a photo) → sacar
Grab / catch / pick up (in your hand) → coger, agarrar, recoger
Remove (clothes off, a stain off) → quitar

Two checks that save you from awkward sentences

Is there a destination? If the thing is going with you to a place, llevar is often the clean pick.
Is it coming out of something? If you’re taking it out, getting it from a machine, or pulling it from a container, sacar is often the clean pick.

When tomar fits

Tomar often matches “take” when the idea is consumption or “have” in English. It also shows up in set phrases that don’t map neatly to English word-by-word.

Food, drinks, and medicine

Sample:Voy a tomar un café. — I’m going to have a coffee.

Sample:Toma esta pastilla con agua. — Take this pill with water.

Sample:No puedo tomar alcohol. — I can’t drink alcohol.

Seats, breaks, and notes

Sample:Toma asiento, por favor. — Have a seat, please.

Sample:Vamos a tomar un descanso. — Let’s take a break.

Sample:Toma notas en clase. — Take notes in class.

Classes and decisions

In some places you’ll hear tomar una clase for “take a class,” while other places prefer hacer un curso or asistir a clase. With decisions, tomar una decisión is widely used and sounds natural in formal writing and daily speech.

When llevar is the natural pick

Llevar is “take” in the sense of carrying, wearing, or bringing something from your current spot to another spot. It often pairs with a destination: llevar + objeto + a + lugar.

Carry something somewhere

Sample:Lleva el libro a la biblioteca. — Take the book to the library.

Sample:¿Puedes llevarme al aeropuerto? — Can you take me to the airport?

Sample:Llevo comida a casa. — I’m taking food home.

Wear or have on

Sample:Llevo una chaqueta. — I’m wearing a jacket.

Take away with you: llevarse

Add se and you get the idea of taking something along, often away from a spot: llevarse. That little pronoun changes the action from “carry” to “take away with me/us.”

Sample:Me llevo tu paraguas y vuelvo luego. — I’ll take your umbrella and come back later.

Sample:Nos llevamos las sobras. — We’re taking the leftovers with us.

When sacar means “take out” or “take a photo”

Sacar is a workhorse for “take out,” “get,” and “pull.” It’s also the common verb for taking photos in Spanish.

Take something out of a place

Sample:Saca el móvil del bolso. — Take the phone out of the bag.

Sample:Voy a sacar la basura. — I’m going to take out the trash.

Sample:Sacaron al perro del parque. — They took the dog out of the park.

Get money, copies, and photos

Sample:Necesito sacar dinero. — I need to take out (withdraw) money.

Sample:Saca una foto aquí. — Take a photo here.

In writing, pair sacar with de to name the source.

Meaning of “take”	Common Spanish verb	Model phrase
Consume (drink, medicine)	tomar	Tomar un té / tomar una pastilla
Have a seat / a break	tomar	Tomar asiento / tomar un descanso
Take notes	tomar	Tomar notas
Carry to a destination	llevar	Llevar el paquete a casa
Take someone somewhere	llevar	Llevar a alguien al médico
Take away with you	llevarse	Me llevo las llaves
Take out of a bag/room	sacar	Sacar el cuaderno de la mochila
Withdraw money	sacar	Sacar dinero del cajero
Take a photo	sacar	Sacar una foto
Pick up (collect, retrieve)	recoger	Recoger a los niños
Remove (take off, take away)	quitar	Quitar la chaqueta / quitar una mancha

Other verbs that often translate as “take”

Once you start listening to native speech, you’ll hear “take” ideas expressed with a few more verbs. Each one has its own feel, and some come with regional landmines.

Coger: grab, catch, take (with a regional warning)

In Spain, coger is a normal, common verb for “grab” or “take.” In parts of Latin America, it can sound crude. If you’re not sure what your listener’s used to, pick agarrar or tomar instead and you’ll stay on safe ground.

Sample:Coge el lápiz. — Take the pencil.

Sample:Voy a coger el bus. — I’m going to take the bus. (common in Spain)

Agarrar: grab and hold

Agarrar is plain and physical: you take something with your hand and hold it. It’s common across many countries, so it’s a safe pick when you want “grab.”

Sample:Agarra mi mano. — Take my hand.

Sample:Agarró el vaso sin mirar. — He/She grabbed the glass without looking.

Recoger: pick up, collect, fetch

Recoger fits when the action is picking something up or collecting it from a spot. It’s also the go-to for picking someone up in a car.

Sample:Recoge el papel del suelo. — Pick up the paper from the floor.

Quitar and quitarse: remove, take off

When “take” means remove, quitar is a strong match. Add se for taking something off yourself: quitarse.

Sample:Quita esa caja de la mesa. — Take that box off the table.

Sample:Me quito los zapatos. — I’m taking off my shoes.

Picking the verb in one minute

Here’s a simple way to choose without freezing mid-sentence.

Name the action in English with a sharper verb: drink, carry, remove, grab, collect.
Match that action to a Spanish verb: tomar, llevar, sacar, agarrar, recoger, quitar.
Add the missing bits: destination (a), source (de), or pronoun (me/te/se/nos/os).

Situation cue	Verb to reach for	One natural phrase
You’re drinking or taking medicine	tomar	Tomar agua / tomar medicina
You’re bringing something to a place	llevar	Llevar la mochila a clase
You’re taking something away with you	llevarse	Me llevo el cargador
You’re pulling something out	sacar	Sacar el dinero
You’re taking a photo	sacar	Sacar una foto
You’re grabbing something with your hand	agarrar	Agarra el vaso
You’re collecting or picking someone up	recoger	Recoger a mi hermana
You’re removing or taking off	quitar / quitarse	Quitar la tapa / quitarse el abrigo

Forms you’ll use a lot

You don’t need full verb charts to start speaking, but a few spellings pop up early and can trip you up.

Present tense “yo” forms that change

llevar → yo llevo
recoger → yo recojo
coger → yo cojo

Past tense spelling that surprises learners

In the preterite, sacar changes to keep the sound: saqué, sacaste, sacó. Writing sacé looks off.

Mistakes that give you away, and clean fixes

Many “take” errors come from translating a whole English sentence at once. Build the Spanish sentence from the action outward.

Using tomar too often

Try this instead: if there’s a destination, reach for llevar; if it’s coming out of something, reach for sacar. If it’s removal, reach for quitar.

Mixing up llevar and traer

Llevar moves away from where you are; traer moves toward where you are. If you’re on a call and you say “Bring it here,” you want trae eso aquí, not lleva.

Forgetting the pronoun in llevarse and quitarse

Sample:Me llevo la chaqueta. — I’ll take the jacket with me.

Sample:Me quito la chaqueta. — I’m taking off the jacket.

Same noun, same speaker, two different actions. The pronoun flags what’s going on.

Mini practice to lock it in

Read each line, pick the verb that matches the action, then say the sentence out loud.

Fill the blank

____ un vaso de agua. (drink)
____ la mochila a la escuela. (carry to a place)
____ una foto del menú. (photo)
____ el dinero del cajero. (withdraw)
____ el abrigo, hace calor. (remove)
____ a mi primo en la estación. (pick up a person)
____ el bolígrafo y escribe tu nombre. (grab)
____ una decisión hoy. (decision)

Check yourself

Toma un vaso de agua.
Lleva la mochila a la escuela.
Saca una foto del menú.
Saca el dinero del cajero.
Quítate el abrigo, hace calor.
Recoge a mi primo en la estación.
Agarra el bolígrafo y escribe tu nombre.
Toma una decisión hoy.

Printable checklist to choose the right verb

Use this short list when you feel that “take” moment coming.

If it’s food, drink, medicine, notes, a seat, or a break: tomar.
If it’s going with you to another place: llevar (or llevarse if it’s “take away”).
If it’s coming out of something, getting pulled from a machine, or it’s a photo: sacar.
If it’s a hand action: agarrar (safe across regions) or coger if you know it fits your audience.
If it’s collecting or fetching: recoger.
If it’s removal: quitar / quitarse.

Spanish for ‘To Take’ | Pick The Right Verb Each Time