arriver
/a.ʁi.ve/
To arrive in French is arriver.
The primary meaning of arriver is to get to a certain place. However, in certain contexts, it can also mean to happen or to occur.
Meaning: to get to a certain place (verb)
Which one should you use?
While arriver is the standard verb for physical arrival, you may encounter débarquer in more casual settings.
How do you pronounce it?
/a.ʁi.ve/
Did you know?
- The word arriver shares a common ancestor with the English word 'river', stemming from the Latin 'ripa' meaning 'bank' or 'shore'.
- The expression arriver à faire quelque chose means 'to manage to do something', shifting the meaning from movement to capability.
- The verb arriver is one of the few verbs that uses être as an auxiliary in the passé composé, such as in je suis arrivé.
Examples in context
- Quand vas-tu arriver ?When will you arrive?This sentence uses arriver to ask about the timing of an arrival.Tatoeba #3259928 by Julien_PDC, translation #2325463 by Adelpa
- Il va bientôt arriver.He'll arrive soon.This sentence uses arriver to indicate someone will arrive in the near future.Tatoeba #8672935 by Julien_PDC, translation #10466897 by sundown
- Vous venez d'arriver ?Did you just arrive?This sentence uses arriver to ask if someone has just completed their arrival.Tatoeba #10623426 by lbdx, translation #7803989 by shekitten
- Je suis arrivé(e) à l'hôtel.I arrived at the hotel.
- Je viens ce soir.I'm coming tonight.
- Je débarque chez toi dans quinze minutes.I'll arrive at your place in fifteen minutes.
- Nous sommes arrivés au restaurant à 20 heures.We arrived at the restaurant at 8 o'clock.
- Est-ce que vous êtes déjà arrivé(e) à bon port ?Have you arrived safely?
- J'arrive chez toi dans cinq minutes.I'll arrive at your place in five minutes.
- On débarque chez Pierre à la soirée surprise.We're all arriving at Pierre's surprise party.
- 151 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Léa and Hugo are waiting at a train station.
- LéaÀ quelle heure est-ce qu'il va arriver ?What time is he going to arrive?
- HugoIl doit arriver dans dix minutes.He should arrive in ten minutes.
- LéaC'est parfait pour moi.That is perfect for me.
- HugoD'accord, on attend encore un peu.Okay, let's wait a little longer.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “arrive” translations and entries arriver, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries arriver, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
