viajar
/bjaˈxaɾ/
To say travel in Spanish, use viajar. For example, Me gusta viajar solo. means I like to travel by myself. If unsure, use viajar. Wiktionary also lists recorrer and transitar.
Meaning: be on a journey (verb)
Ways to say it
| Spanish | IPA |
|---|---|
| viajar | /bjaˈxaɾ/ |
| recorrer | /rekoˈreɾ/ |
| transitar | /tɾansiˈtaɾ/ |
viajar is the general verb for going on a trip or journey. Add en and a vehicle to say how you travel, as in viajar en avión or viajar en tren.
Which one should you use?
recorrer stresses traveling through a specific area or covering a distance. transitar is more formal and usually describes vehicles or people moving along a route or across a border.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Spain travesía is sometimes used for a journey or voyage.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The noun for the trip itself is viaje. Other words for means of travel are autobús for bus and barco for ship or boat.
How do you pronounce it?
viajar is pronounced /bjaˈxaɾ/. The first sound is a b, the j is a rasping sound in the throat and the stress falls on the last syllable.
Did you know?
- While viajar is the standard verb, Spanish uses the noun viaje in a specific construction with hacer to say 'to take a trip'. Instead of saying 'I travel', a native speaker often says hago un viaje, which literally means 'I make a trip'.
- The word viajar shares a common ancestor with the English word 'way', through the Latin word via which means 'road' or 'path'.
- In Spanish, the word viajero does not just mean a 'traveler'. It is often used as an adjective to describe someone with a wandering spirit or a deep passion for exploration.
Examples in context
- ¿Vas a viajar solo?Will you travel alone?Vas a viajar is the near future, will you travel.Tatoeba #1279269 by hayastan, translation #69685 by CK
- No le gusta viajar.He doesn't like to travel.No le gusta viajar. uses the infinitive after the verb for to like.Tatoeba #9287390 by Javea, translation #13245170 by araneo
- Me gusta viajar solo.I like to travel by myself.viajar solo means to travel alone.Tatoeba #540338 by Shishir, translation #27643 by CK
- Me encanta viajarI love to travel
- Vamos a hacer un viaje por Europa este veranoWe are going on a trip around Europe this summer
- Estoy saliendo de viaje mañana a MadridI'm leaving on a trip to Madrid tomorrow
- Yo viajoI travel
- Tú viajasYou travel
- Él/Ella viajaHe/She travels
- Estoy planeando un viajeI am planning a trip
- Voy a viajar al extranjeroI am going to travel abroad
- 162 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Lucía and Mateo are discussing their holiday plans.
- Lucía¿Vas a viajar este año, Mateo?Are you going to travel this year, Mateo?
- MateoSí, quiero viajar a Japón.Yes, I want to travel to Japan.
- Lucía¡Qué bien! Yo también quiero viajar.How great! I want to travel too.
- MateoPodemos viajar juntos el próximo año.We can travel together next year.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “travel” translations and entries viajar, recorrer, transitar, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries recorrer, viajar, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
