arriver à
The English phrase "come to" can be translated into French as arriver à or atteindre.
Meaning: to reach, to arrive at (verb)
Ways to say it
| French | IPA |
|---|---|
| arriver à | |
| atteindre | /a.tɛ̃dʁ/ |
Both terms are used to express the idea of reaching or arriving at something.
How does it change in a sentence?
The phrase arriver à is followed by a noun or an infinitive verb to express reaching a result or a state.
Did you know?
- The word arriver is built from the French word rive, meaning 'shore'. Historically, it described the act of a ship reaching land.
- While arriver is a translation for 'come to', it is used in French to say 'to happen'. For example, qu'est-ce qui arrive? means 'what is happening?'
- In very informal French, the word arriver is used in the phrase j'y arrive to mean 'I can do it' or 'I am managing'.
Examples in context
- Nous devons arriver à un accord.We need to come to an agreement.This sentence shows how to use arriver à regarding an agreement.Tatoeba #474039 by sacredceltic, translation #464424 by lukaszpp
- Il nous a fallu trois heures pour arriver à une conclusion.It took us three hours to come to a conclusion.This sentence shows how to use arriver à regarding a conclusion.Tatoeba #11377539 by Aiji, translation #48378 by Dejo
- J'aimerais entendre au moins une fois l'avis de Tom avant d'arriver à une conclusion.I'd like to hear Tom's opinion at least once before we come to a conclusion.Tatoeba #2886043 by Popolon, translation #2629819 by WestofEden
- Venez à la conférence.Come to the conference.
- Viens à la fête ce soir!Come to the party tonight!
- Viens à la plage demain.Come to the beach tomorrow.
- Rejoins-nous à la soirée.Come join us at the party.
- Venez à la cérémonie de remise des prix.Come to the award ceremony.
- Viens à la maison pour le dîner.Come to the house for dinner.
- Rejoins-nous à la piscine cet après-midi!Come join us at the pool this afternoon!
Example conversation
Léa and Nathan are discussing their travel plans to a specific destination.
- LéaÀ quelle heure vas-tu arriver à la gare ?At what time are you going to arrive at the station?
- NathanJe pense que je vais arriver à Paris vers minuit.I think I will arrive in Paris around midnight.
- LéaC'est parfait, je viendrai te chercher.That's perfect, I will come pick you up.
- NathanMerci, c'est gentil de ta part.Thanks, that is kind of you.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “come to” translations and entries atteindre, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries arriver, atteindre, à, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
