Unconfuse · Free
Emigrate vs. Immigrate: What's the Difference?
Quick answer
- Emigrate means to leave your country to live somewhere else.
- Immigrate means to come into a new country to live there.
The difference
It's one journey with two viewpoints. From the home country, a person emigrates. From the new country, the same person immigrates. The prepositions follow: emigrate from, immigrate to.
Emigrate
- Usually
- verb
- Think
- exit
- Meaning
- To leave your own country to live permanently in another.
- Example
- Her grandparents emigrated from Italy in 1952.
Immigrate
- Usually
- verb
- Think
- in
- Meaning
- To come to live permanently in a foreign country.
- Example
- He immigrated to Canada as a teenager.
When to use emigrate
Use emigrate when the focus is on the country being left.
- Many doctors emigrated from the region.
- They plan to emigrate after they retire.
When to use immigrate
Use immigrate when the focus is on the country being entered.
- She immigrated to the United States in 2010.
- Families immigrate for work and safety.
Remember it
Emigrate = Exit. Immigrate = In.
Common mix-up
Incorrect: My parents emigrated to Australia from Vietnam.
Correct: My parents immigrated to Australia from Vietnam.
“To Australia” focuses on the arrival, so immigrate fits. (“Emigrated from Vietnam” would also work.)
Free
Think you've got it?
He _____ from Ireland when he was twenty.
Thousands of people _____ to the city each year.
Which pairing is correct?
Look these up
You might also confuse
Now use it for real
Real-World Practice puts words into the situations you actually meet, free, no AI credits.
Try Real-World Practice