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"to arrive" in seven languages

Meaningto arrive

Spanish

llegar

/ʝeˈgaɾ/

other source · Latin PLICĀRE 'to fold', in a sense 'to bring close, approach'

French

arriver

/aʁive/

inherited

Also 'to happen': qu'est-ce qui arrive ?

Italian

arrivare

/arriˈvare/

inherited

Portuguese

chegar

/ʃeˈgah/

other source · Latin PLICĀRE 'to fold', in a sense 'to bring close, approach'

Romanian

ajunge

/aˈʒundʒe/

other source · Latin ADIUNGERE 'to join to'

Sosi is also used, especially of trains and planes.

Catalan

arribar

/əriˈba/

inherited

English

arrive

/əˈɹaɪv/

from Latin/French · Old French ariver

English → Italianto arrivearrivareCognateSame source — inherited, learned or borrowed. You can recognize it.What English and Italian share

The Latin ancestor

*ARRĪPĀRE‘to reach the shore (AD + RĪPA 'bank')’

All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.

The story

To arrive was to make it to the riverbank — a boatman's verb. Spanish llegar is PLICĀRE with the classic PL- → ll-; the story that sailors 'folded' their sails on arrival is popular but uncertain.

English relatives: arrive (via French), riparian (RĪPA); ply, apply, complicate (PLICĀRE)

Sound laws at work

CL-, PL-, FL- at the start of a word

Learn it

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In a sentence

  • es¿Cuándo llega el avión?
  • frL'avion arrive quand ?
  • itQuando arriva l'aereo?
  • ptQuando o avião chega?
  • roCând ajunge avionul?
  • caQuan arriba l'avió?
  • enWhen does the plane arrive?

More in Core verbs

All Core verbs words