Emigrate means leave your country to live in another: they emigrated from Portugal. Immigrate means come into a country to live there: they immigrated to Canada. It's one move, seen from two sides of the border: to Portugal the family are emigrants, to Canada they're immigrants. To remember: e as in exit, im as in in.
emigrate or immigrate — can you pick the right one?
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emigrate from/to a country; immigrate to/from a country; migrate between places
- Her grandparents emigrated from Portugal to Canada in the 1960s.
- From Canada's perspective, the same family immigrated from Portugal.
- He hopes to immigrate to New Zealand and settle near his sister.
What changed
First versionHer family immigrated in Canada when she was six.
RevisionHer family immigrated to Canada when she was six.
Arriving and living in a country make in feel natural here. But the country you move to takes to, just as after move: immigrated to Canada. In is for where people already live: they live in Canada.
Migrate means move from place to place in general, including within a country, and it's used for birds. Emigrate and immigrate are about moving to another country for good. An expat lives abroad, often for work and not necessarily forever.
Your turn
Choose the verb whose meaning focuses on coming into a country to settle: They decided to ___.
Show the answer
immigrate — The focus is on coming into a country to live there, so it's immigrate. Emigrate looks from the side of the country being left.
Write about someone you know who moved to live in another country. Use emigrate or immigrate.
The family emigrated from Argentina to Spain and opened a small bakery there.
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