venire a
/veˈni.re a/word by word
In Italian, 'come to' is expressed as venire a.
The phrase is used to mean reaching or arriving at a destination. Depending on the social context, there are different ways to invite someone or suggest movement. For example, you can use Si faccia avanti as a polite way to say 'come forward' or Prego, accomodi to politely say 'Please, make yourself comfortable' when inviting someone into a home or specific area. In informal settings, you might use Passa da to mean 'drop by' or the interjection Dai to mean 'come on'.
Meaning: to reach, to arrive at (verb)
How does it change in a sentence?
When using venire a, the preposition a must change to al, allo, alla, agli, all or alle based on the gender and number of the noun that follows it.
How do you pronounce it?
The phrase is pronounced /veˈni.re a/. It has 3 syllables, with the stress on the 2nd syllable.
Did you know?
- While English uses 'come' and 'go' based on the speaker's location, Italian speakers use venire if the destination is a place where the person they are talking to already is or will be.
- Italian uses venire to express an involuntary action, like mi è venuto in mente, which means 'it occurred to me' or 'it popped into my head'.
- Italian has a specific expression venire meno, which means to fail, to lack something, or to pass away, rather than physically coming to a place.
Examples in context
- Può venire alla festa?Can you come to the party?This sentence is useful for asking if someone can venire a the party.Tatoeba #1710838 by Guybrush88, translation #35697 by CK
- Può venire alla festa.You can come to the party.This sentence is useful for stating that someone can venire a the party.Tatoeba #13316146 by Guybrush88, translation #12176200 by always
- Vuoi venire a una festa?Do you want to come to a party?This sentence is useful for asking if someone wants to venire a a party.Tatoeba #3662667 by Guybrush88, translation #2014236 by CK
- Venga a trovarci, il nostro ristorante è fantasticoCome to visit us, our restaurant is fantastic
- Si faccia avanti, signoraCome forward, madam
- Prego, accomodi nella mia casaPlease, come into my house
- Vieni a vedere il mio nuovo appartamentoCome to see my new apartment
- Dai, vieni con noi in spiaggiaCome on, come to the beach with us
- Passa da me dopo il lavoroCome to my place after work
- 162 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Lorenzo and Martina are talking about a local market.
- LorenzoQuando vuoi venire a questo mercato?When do you want to come to this market?
- MartinaPosso venire a sabato mattina, Lorenzo.I can come on Saturday morning, Lorenzo.
- LorenzoPerfetto, allora ci vediamo lì.Perfect, then we'll see each other there.
- MartinaSì, a sabato allora!Yes, until Saturday then!
Sources
- IPA marked “word by word” joins the Wiktionary pronunciations of each word (venire, a) and can differ in connected speech.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
