ir a la iglesia
/iɾ a la iɡlesja/from spelling rules
To go to church in Spanish is ir a la iglesia.
The phrase is used to express the act of attending a religious service or visiting a church building. Depending on the context, you might use more specific alternatives: Asistir a la iglesia is used to mean 'to attend church', while Dirigirse a la iglesia means 'to proceed to the church'.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase ir a la iglesia literally translates to 'to go to the church'.
Which one should you use?
While ir a la iglesia refers to the building or the general act of going, you can use ir a misa to specifically mean attending the actual religious service or 'to go to Mass'.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Mexico, the phrase Ir a misa is commonly used to mean 'go to Mass'.
How does it change in a sentence?
To express the past tense, you conjugate the verb ir. For example, fui a la iglesia means 'I went to church'.
How do you pronounce it?
/iɾ a la iɡlesja/
Did you know?
- The verb ir is a linguistic mosaic. The form voy comes from the Latin 'vādere', while fui actually comes from the Latin 'esse', meaning 'to be'.
- In Spanish, the word iglesia can refer to the physical building or the entire global community of believers, mirroring the difference between 'church' and 'Church' in English.
Examples in context
- No quiero ir a la iglesia hoy.I don't want to go to church today.This sentence uses ir a la iglesia to express a lack of desire to go to church today.Tatoeba #1617901 by hayastan, translation #4774598 by Germic
- Tengo que ir a la iglesia mañana.I've got to go to church tomorrow.This sentence uses ir a la iglesia to express an obligation to go to church tomorrow.Tatoeba #5115095 by don_ramon, translation #2359751 by CK
- ¿Queréis ir a la iglesia conmigo?Do you want to go to church with me?This sentence uses ir a la iglesia to ask others to join in going to church.Tatoeba #10802729 by saverius, translation #5937193 by CK
- 5 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Javier and María are talking about their plans for Sunday morning.
- Javier¿Vas a ir a la iglesia este domingo?Are you going to go to church this Sunday?
- MaríaSí, quiero ir a la iglesia con mi familia.Yes, I want to go to church with my family.
- JavierMe parece muy bien, María.That sounds very good, María.
- MaríaGracias, Javier. ¿Tú también vas?Thanks, Javier. Are you going too?
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries a, iglesia, ir, la, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
