Confused by "aquí", "allá", and "aquella"?

When I first started learning Spanish, words like "aquí", "allá", and "aquella" were a mystery. They all seemed to mean “here” or “there”, and I couldn’t figure out when to use which. If that sounds familiar, you’re not alone.

"Aquí" = right here, close to me

"Aquí" is used when something is very close to the speaker. If your phone is in your hand, you'd say: "El teléfono está aquí." — “The phone is right here.”

"Allá" = over there, far from both

"Allá" refers to something far away from both the speaker and the listener. Think of it like “way over there.” For example: "Mis abuelos viven allá en el campo."

"Aquella" = that one over there (feminine)

"Aquella" is a demonstrative adjective or pronoun used for feminine nouns that are far away. It’s similar to “that one over there.” Example: "¿Ves aquella casa en la colina?" — “Do you see that house on the hill?”

A trick that helped me

I started thinking of these words in levels of distance, kind of like this:

The best way to get these down is to use them often. Join conversations and practice with native speakers inside the Lingobi app.