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E EnglishDart
B2

Emigrate vs Immigrate

Emigrate = leave your country to live abroad (emigrate FROM). Immigrate = arrive to live in a new country (immigrate TO). Same journey, different directions.

The one-line answer

Emigrate = leave your country to live abroad (emigrate FROM). Immigrate = arrive to live in a new country (immigrate TO). Same journey, different directions.

emigrate

verb

to leave your own country to live permanently in another

  • Her family emigrated from Ireland to Canada.
  • Many people emigrated during the crisis.
  • He plans to emigrate next year.

immigrate

verb

to come into a country to live permanently

  • Her family immigrated to Canada in 2010.
  • Millions immigrated to the US in the early 1900s.
  • He immigrated legally with a work visa.

Memory trick

Emigrate starts with E like Exit — you exit your country. Immigrate starts with I like In — you come into a new one. An emigrant leaves; an immigrant arrives.

Emigrate vs Immigrate: Test yourself

Question 1 of 2

Thousands ___ from the country during the war.