aspect N4 common casualpolitewritten
〜てくる — (aspect) begin to ~
〜てくる ・ てくる
Builds on て形
Meaning
① moving toward / and come back: ~ and come / go ~ and come back — an action directed toward the speaker
② change developing up to now: come to ~ / start ~ing / have been ~ing — a change that has unfolded up to the present
Key sentence
① moving toward / and come back
犬がこっちに走ってきた。
The dog came running toward me.
② change developing up to now
だんだん寒くなってきた。
It's gradually gotten cold.
Formation
| Attaches to | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Verb (て-form) | V-て + くる | 歩く → 歩いてくる |
Examples
① moving toward / and come back
ちょっとパンを買ってくるね。
I'll just go buy some bread and come back.
向こうから友達が歩いてきた。
A friend came walking up from the other side.
② change developing up to now
やっと意味が分かってきた。
I've finally started to understand the meaning.
三年間、日本語を勉強してきた。
I've been studying Japanese for three years now.
Easily confused with
Notes
- The 'come back' reading (買ってくる) implies returning to the starting point — go do it and come back — which 行ってくる ('I'm off, back later') makes explicit as a set phrase.
See 〜てくる in real sentences
Jengo shows 〜てくる the way you actually meet it: inside real Japanese sentences, so it sticks instead of staying an abstract rule.
Study it in JengoSources Compiled with reference to A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar.