Emigrate focuses on leaving a country to live elsewhere. Immigrate focuses on arriving in another country to live there. The same move can be described from either end.
Follow one move from departure to arrival
- “Rosa emigrated from Chile in 2018.” The sentence begins with the country she left.
- “Rosa immigrated to Canada in 2018.” The sentence emphasizes the country where she settled.
Pair emigrate with from and immigrate with to
These pairings make the perspective easy to see. You can also name both endpoints in one sentence, as in “Rosa emigrated from Chile to Canada.” A short visit is usually described with travel or visit. See Merriam-Webster’s entry on emigrate for more on the two viewpoints.
Try it
“The family ___ from Morocco and ___ to Spain, where they settled.”
Show the answer
Use emigrated and immigrated. Morocco is the place the family left, and Spain is the place they moved to.
See also Bring vs. Take.
