llegar
/ʝeˈɡaɾ/
To arrive or reach a destination in Spanish is llegar.
Llegar is used to describe the act of reaching a destination or arriving at a place. You can also use the expression estar por llegar to indicate that someone is on their way or is about to arrive.
Which one should you use?
While llegar is the standard term, you may encounter arribar, which is a more formal synonym used in official or legal contexts. In Latin American countries, the informal term caer can be used to mean arriving in the sense of 'showing up' or 'dropping by'.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Spain, the synonym arribar is not commonly used.
How does it change in a sentence?
When you want to specify the destination you are arriving at, llegar is often followed by the preposition a (llegar a). For past tense conjugation, the first-person singular preterite form is llegué (I arrived) and the first-person plural preterite form is llegamos (we arrived).
How do you pronounce it?
/ʝeˈɡaɾ/
Did you know?
- While llegar means arriving, the Romanian word pleca is a linguistic relative that means the exact opposite: 'to leave'.
- Spanish uses llegar not just for people, but for abstract concepts, such as when a certain age, a price, or a specific realization 'arrives'.
Examples in context
- El tren llegará a las 10 de la mañana.The train will arrive at 10 in the morning.
- El barco arribó al puerto con mercancías de gran valor.The ship arrived at the port with valuable merchandise.
- Nuestro vuelo llegará a destino a las 6 de la tarde.Our flight will arrive at the destination at 6 p.m.
- Mis amigos van a caer a mi casa esta tarde.My friends are going to show up at my house this afternoon.
- ¿Dónde estás? Estoy por llegar.Where are you? I'm about to arrive.
- Llegamos a la estación a las ocho.We arrived at the station at eight.
- El tren va a llegar tarde.The train is going to arrive late.
- Espero llegar a casa pronto.I hope to arrive home soon.
- ¿A qué hora vas a llegar?What time are you going to arrive?
Example conversation
María and Mateo are talking about their travel plans.
- María¿A qué hora piensas llegar?What time do you plan to arrive?
- MateoEspero llegar sobre las seis.I hope to arrive around six.
- MaríaPerfecto, yo te espero allí.Perfect, I will wait for you there.
- MateoGracias, María. Nos vemos pronto.Thanks, María. See you soon.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry llegar, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries llegar, CC BY-SA 4.0.
