Motion Prefixes: При- (Arrive) and У- (Leave) | Russian Grammar

This page drills the two prefixes you will reach for more than any others: при- "arrive, come" and у- "leave, go away." They are opposites, but not in the way English "come" and "go" are opposites. The deeper insight — the one that unlocks half of Russian conversation about comings and goings — is that при- and у- are about where the subject ends up: при- puts them here, у- takes them away. Hold that result-location idea in mind and the prepositions, the tenses, and the translations all fall into place.

ПРИ-: arrival, "now here"

The prefix при- added to a motion stem means the motion ends at a destination, with the subject present there as a result. On the prefixed overview you saw that a prefix builds an aspect pair from the two stems; при- is the textbook case:

прийти́ (pf, on foot) / приходи́ть (impf) — to arrive, come (walking)
прие́хать (pf, by vehicle) / приезжа́ть (impf) — to arrive, come (riding)
прилете́ть (pf, by air) / прилета́ть (impf) — to arrive, fly in

The perfective прийти́ has the irregular future built on the stem -йд-: приду́, придёшь, придёт, придём, придёте, приду́т, and the past пришёл (m), пришла́ (f), пришли́ (pl). This is the single most-used motion verb you will conjugate, so it is worth overlearning.

Он пришёл домо́й по́здно и сра́зу лёг спать.

He came home late and went straight to bed. (прийти́, pf past — he is now home)

Я прие́хал в Москву́ вчера́ ве́чером.

I arrived in Moscow yesterday evening. (прие́хать, pf — I am here now)

Приходи́ ко мне в суббо́ту, посиди́м.

Come over to my place on Saturday, we'll hang out. (imperative of приходи́ть; ко мне = к + dat)

The prepositions при- takes: destinations

Because при- names where you arrive, it pairs with destination prepositions — the same ones used for direction with the unprefixed verbs:

в / на + accusative for a place: в Москву́ (to Moscow), на рабо́ту (to work)
к + dative for a person or a point you head toward: к врачу́ (to the doctor), ко мне (to my place)

The choice between в and на is the ordinary one covered on в and на for location and direction; the prefix does not change it.

За́втра к нам прие́дут роди́тели из дере́вни.

Tomorrow my parents are coming to us from the village. (к нам = к + dat; arrival)

Самолёт из Берли́на прилети́т в семь утра́.

The flight from Berlin lands at seven in the morning. (прилете́ть → прилети́т)

У-: departure, "now gone"

The prefix у- is the mirror image. It marks motion away from a place into absence — and crucially, the result is that the subject is no longer here.

уйти́ (pf, on foot) / уходи́ть (impf) — to leave, go away (walking)
уе́хать (pf, by vehicle) / уезжа́ть (impf) — to leave, go away (riding)
улете́ть (pf, by air) / улета́ть (impf) — to fly off, depart by air

Like прийти́, the perfective уйти́ builds its future on -йд-: уйду́, уйдёшь, уйду́т, past ушёл / ушла́ / ушли́.

Его́ нет — он уже́ ушёл.

He's not here — he's already left. (ушёл, pf — the result is that he's gone)

Они́ уе́хали из го́рода на всё ле́то.

They've left the city for the whole summer. (уе́хать — they are away now)

Не уходи́, оста́нься ещё немно́го.

Don't go, stay a bit longer. (imperative of imperfective уходи́ть — negated commands take the imperfective)

The prepositions у- takes: sources

If при- arrives at a place, у- departs from one — so у- pairs with source prepositions, which take the genitive:

из + genitive — out of a place you were inside of: из го́рода (from/out of the city)
с + genitive — off a place that took на: с рабо́ты (from work), с уро́ка (from the lesson)
от + genitive — away from a person or point (the from-a-person counterpart of к): от врача́ (from the doctor's)

The из/с pairing mirrors the в/на pairing exactly: if you go в a place, you come из it; if you go на a place, you come с it. This symmetry is laid out on motion versus location.

Он ушёл с рабо́ты ра́ньше обы́чного.

He left work earlier than usual. (на рабо́ту → с рабо́ты; с + gen)

Я то́лько что верну́лся от врача́.

I've just got back from the doctor's. (от + gen, the from-a-person source)

The core contrast: пришёл vs ушёл

Now put them side by side. The two prefixes differ in where the subject is now, not merely in the direction of travel:

При- — arrival, "now here"	У- — departure, "now gone"
Он пришёл. — He's come / arrived (and is here).	Он ушёл. — He's left (and is gone).
Она́ прие́хала в Москву́. — She's come to Moscow (she's here).	Она́ уе́хала в Москву́. — She's gone off to Moscow (she's away).
destination: в/на + acc, к + dat	source: из/с + gen, от + gen

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The most useful single fact on this page: уе́хал / ушёл describe a present state of absence. Он уе́хал does not just report a past departure — it tells you that he is not here now. When a Russian says «Его́ нет, он уе́хал», the relevant information is the current absence, exactly like English "he's away," not "he left at some point."

This is where English misleads you. English "he went to Moscow" and "he left for Moscow" say nothing reliable about where he is now — he may have come back. Russian forces the issue: прие́хал = arrived and (by default) is here; уе́хал = departed and is away. Note also that one and the same destination phrase, «в Москву́», attaches to both — with при- it is where he arrived, with у- it is where he headed off to. The prefix, not the preposition, tells you whether he is here or gone.

— Где Анто́н? — Он уе́хал в Пи́тер на неде́лю.

— Where's Anton? — He's gone to St Petersburg for a week. (уе́хал = he's away now; в Пи́тер = destination he left for)

Анто́н прие́хал из Пи́тера загоре́лый и отдохну́вший.

Anton has come back from St Petersburg tanned and rested. (прие́хал = he's here; из Пи́тера = source)

Aspect works normally on both

Once prefixed, прийти́/приходи́ть and уйти́/уходи́ть are ordinary aspect pairs, so all the usual aspect logic from the aspect overview applies. The perfectives report single completed events (and have a simple future: приду́, уйду́); the imperfectives report habits, repetition, or process (with a compound future: бу́ду приходи́ть).

Ра́ньше она́ приходи́ла к нам ка́ждое воскресе́нье.

She used to come to us every Sunday. (imperfective приходи́ть — habit in the past)

Я обяза́тельно приду́, не волну́йся.

I'll definitely come, don't worry. (perfective future приду́ — one arrival)

Обы́чно я ухожу́ с рабо́ты в шесть, но за́втра уйду́ ра́ньше.

Usually I leave work at six, but tomorrow I'll leave earlier. (habitual ухожу́ vs single уйду́)

Common Mistakes

❌ Он ушёл в Москву́ и сейча́с живёт там — так что он прие́хал.

Confused logic — if he's now living there, you describe his arrival with прие́хал; ушёл/уе́хал leaves him 'away from the speaker', not 'arrived'.

✅ Он уе́хал в Москву́ и тепе́рь живёт там.

He moved to Moscow and now lives there. (from the speaker's standpoint he is away → уе́хал)

❌ Он прие́хал из Москвы́ в Москву́.

Incorrect — при- takes a destination (в/на/к), not a source; the source из Москвы́ belongs with a departure or return verb.

✅ Он прие́хал в Москву́. / Он верну́лся из Москвы́.

He arrived in Moscow. / He came back from Moscow. (при- + destination; source needs из + a return verb)

❌ Я ушёл от рабо́ты.

Wrong source preposition — work takes на, so its source is с рабо́ты, not от рабо́ты (от is for people).

✅ Я ушёл с рабо́ты.

I left work. (на рабо́ту → с рабо́ты)

❌ За́втра я приду́ к тебе́ ка́ждый день.

Aspect clash — ка́ждый день signals habit, which needs the imperfective приходи́ть, not the perfective приду́.

✅ Я бу́ду приходи́ть к тебе́ ка́ждый день.

I'll come to you every day. (habit → imperfective compound future)

❌ Он придёт вчера́ ве́чером.

Tense error — придёт is the perfective future; a completed past arrival is пришёл.

✅ Он пришёл вчера́ ве́чером.

He arrived yesterday evening. (past of прийти́)

Key Takeaways

При- = arrival; the subject is now here. У- = departure into absence; the subject is now gone.
Pairs: прийти́/приходи́ть, прие́хать/приезжа́ть, прилете́ть/прилета́ть (arrive); уйти́/уходи́ть, уе́хать/уезжа́ть, улете́ть/улета́ть (leave).
При- takes destinations: в/на + accusative, к + dative. У- takes sources: из/с + genitive, от + genitive (for people).
Futures of the foot verbs are irregular and built on -йд-: приду́, уйду́; pasts пришёл/ушёл.
Уе́хал/ушёл report a present state of absence ("is away now"), where English "left/went" is ambiguous — this resolves a major comprehension gap.
Once prefixed, both behave as normal aspect pairs: perfective for single events, imperfective for habits and process.

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