# ходить vs ездить



## Yael

First off, a disclaimer: I've just started learning Russian, so please try to keep the examples simple enough!

I was working on my homework and I had to ask questions with the verbs ходить or ездить when given a statement. In general, I thought I understood the difference, except for these two:

Мы были в Кремле ----> Вы ходили в Кремль?
Мы были во Владимире -----> Вы ездили во Владимир?

The questions I wrote are what the solutions say, but in both cases, I would have chosen the other verb (ходить for Vladimir's and ездить for the Kremlin), so I guess this means I don't understand the difference. Can someone please explain?

Also, I got this next one correct, but now I'm confused about that one too, because I thought it should be the same as the Kremlin one:

Мы были в Санкт-Петербурге -----> Вы ездили в Санкт-Петербург?

Thanks a lot for any and all help!


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## bibax

IMHO all Slavic languages distinguish "to go by means of a vehicle" (ездить) and "to go on foot (ходить). (If you are interested the corresponding Czech verbs are _jezditi_ and _choditi_, pronounced ездити and ходити.)

However there are some peculiarities like

*ходить на лыжах* = to ski (in Czech _*jezdit*_ na lyžích).


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## WordOrder

Hi, Yael.

_ходить_ means _to go on foot_ but _ездить_ means _to go by car, train, etc._ So, in the examples you can use either verb depending on what kind of movement you used.

_Мы были в Кремле — Вы ходили в Кремль?__ | Вы ездили в Кремль?
Мы были во Владимире — Вы ходили во Владимир | Вы ездили во Владимир?

_


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## Maroseika

Generally ездить - "to go by mean of a vehicle". So if you are in Moscow and have been to Petersburg, you can use only ездить to describe it: Мы ездили в Петербург.
But when speaking about a "separate building" such as cinema, museum, theatre, etc., you can use ходить even though you have got them by bus or taxi: Я вчера ходил в театр (it doesn't mean you have reached it on foot right from your home). 

As for such thing as Kremlin or excibition, since it is not a separate building, you can use both:
Вчера ходили/ездили в Кремль.
Вчера ездили/ходили на выставку.

Мы ездили во Владимир и ходили там в Кремль.


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## Russianer

Maroseika said:


> Generally ездить - "to go by mean of a vehicle". .


 
Не всегда. 
Ездить можно и на коне, а конь - это ведь совсем не "vehicle", не машина, не техника, не транспорт, а живое существо.


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## Russianer

WordOrder said:


> _ходить_ means _to go on foot_


 
Не всегда и не во всех случаях. 
Говорят в народе и фразы наподобие: 
"автобус ходит до вокзала", "автобус ходит до 22 часов", итд..
А автобус- это машина, у машины  нет ног и автобус не может 
"_to go on foot_".


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## Rosett

bibax said:


> However there are some peculiarities like
> 
> *ходить на лыжах* = to ski (in Czech _*jezdit*_ na lyžích).


Если лыжи горные, то по-русски тоже 'ездить.'


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## morzh

Rosett said:


> Если лыжи горные, то по-русски тоже 'ездить.'



Чаще, мне кажется, на горных лыжах "катаются".


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## Maroseika

Russianer said:


> Не всегда.
> Ездить можно и на коне, а конь - это ведь совсем не "vehicle", не машина, не техника, не транспорт, а живое существо.



The key word - "generally". Please refer to the context of the question.
However I believe if you want to add something usefull for the topicstarter, better do it in English. Otherwise he will never know your addition.


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## Yael

OK, so if I understand correctly, the examples I was confused about could actually be used with either verb, and more context would be necessary to determine specifically which is best. So maybe I did get it after all!

Thanks to everyone, even if I couldn't understand some of the posts!


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## Yael

Also, it seems to me from the discussion about buses "going on foot" and all that (no idea what the stuff about skiing is) that maybe a better distinction would be: "to go with the help of some device" vs "to go unaided, on your own". Thus, the bus ходит because it is not aided by some other machine or entity, just like people are not aided by anything when they go on foot. Does that work?


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## WordOrder

Yael said:
			
		

> Does that work?


Well, not. I think, you must remember a simple thing — there's a general meaning of a word and there's an extended meaning.

_ходи́ть_ means _to go using legs_. This type of movement is used by people and animals.

_е́здить_ means _to go using weels or similar devices_. This is how cars, buses, carriages and other vehicles move.

This was a general meaning. However, concerning the verb _ходить_, we can say that it has an extended meaning. Here's some examples:

_ходить в кино (театр, школу)_ means _to visit_, _to attend_ that institutions.

_автобус (поезд) идет до Владимира_ means it _runs_ to that destination.

_ходить на лыжах_ means _to go skiing_.

_часы ходять_ means that a watch (a clock) is in a good order and it goes.

There are more similar examples and there's no any logic using the verb _ходить_ in them. You can learn it from a dictionary or asking here.


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## Maroseika

Yael said:


> Thus, the bus ходит because it is not aided by some other machine or entity, just like people are not aided by anything when they go on foot. Does that work?



I'd rather say ходить more refers to the destination while ездить - to the process:
Автобус идет до вокзала.
По улице ездят автобусы и троллейбусы.

Мы ходили в музей. (Semantic stress is on the museum and ходили is neutral as to the way you have reached the museum - on foot, by bus, etc.) 
Мы ездили в музей. (Ездили is not neutral any more, because it is clear we used some vehicle).

Besides, ходить is usually applied only to the route vehicle, i.e to the bus or train, but not to a car or a truck.
Interesting exception: in the professional speech a ship can only ходить, while normal one can easily say судно плывет.


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## Russianer

У сороконожки много ножек, но ведь когда она передвигается, не говорят что она "ходит".
Когда она движется по стволу дерева, скажут, что сороконожка ползёт по дереву. А когда котенок совершает прогулку, скажут, что котенок бегает, а не ходит. 

Если машина медленно движется, скажут, что эта машина ползёт еле-еле по дороге, вместо того чтобы ехать.


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## elemika

Maroseika said:


> I'd rather say ходить more refers to the destination while ездить - to the process:
> Автобус идет до вокзала.
> По улице ездят автобусы и троллейбусы.


Yes.
When we are speaking of the itinerary /schedule, we usually say "идти / ходить":
Автобус ходит по расписанию / каждый час / регулярно
Автобус идёт до конечной остановки / через центр / по обычному маршруту / вне расписания
 Example:
Можно ехать во Владимир на автобусе, он идёт прямо до Золотых Ворот и ходит точно по расписанию.


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## Rosett

Мы ездили на каникулы домой.
Ездили, даже если на самом деле летали самолетом.


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## jazyk

> IMHO all Slavic languages distinguish "to go by means of a vehicle"  (ездить) and "to go on foot (ходить). (If you are interested the  corresponding Czech verbs are _jezditi_ and _choditi_, pronounced ездити and ходити.)


Macedonian and Bulgarian don't and in Slovak it's possible to say chodiť autom, vlakom, etc.

If Yael is interested, maybe he should know that he'll hardly ever come across choditi and jezditi nowadays, but chodit and jezdit.


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## bibax

You are right. I even forgot that Slovak does not distinguish _идти_ and _ехать_ (ísť in Slovak), the non-iterative counterparts of _ходить_ and _ездить_.


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## vianie

Yes yes, in modern Slovak jachať (яхать) means only to hurry, to rush.


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## Memphis9489

Maroseika said:


> As for such thing as Kremlin or excibition, since it is not a separate building, you can use both:
> Вчера ходили/ездили в Кремль.
> Вчера ездили/ходили на выставку.
> 
> Мы ездили во Владимир и ходили там в Кремль.



I always thought the use of ходить/ездить required the action to be repetitive or in nor particular direction.

Having said that, what would be the difference between saying:
Вчера мы ездили в Кремль.
Вчера мы поехали в Кремль. ?

Is the second sentence incorrect -or- does it have a slightly different connotation? If so, what _is _the difference in that connotation?


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## Maroseika

Memphis9489 said:


> I always thought the use of ходить/ездить required the action to be repetitive or in nor particular direction.
> 
> Having said that, what would be the difference between saying:
> Вчера мы ездили в Кремль.
> Вчера мы поехали в Кремль. ?
> 
> Is the second sentence incorrect -or- does it have a slightly different connotation? If so, what _is _the difference in that connotation?


The second sentence is quite correct but has different connotation, indeed. Strictly speaking it even doesn't mean that you have visited Kremlin yesterday, but only that you have left to Kremlin. Therefore it's good for a narration:
Вчера мы поехали в Кремль, но по дороге прокололи колесо.
Вчера мы поехали в Кремль, оттуда - на рынок, а потом - домой.

In other words, поехали в Кремль is more about the destination, while ездили в Кремль is more about the process.

As for the repetition, ездить really can mean this (unlike поехать), but it doesn't mean repetition in all the cases:
Вчера мы ездили в Кремль.
Мы ездили в Крым много раз.


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