～てくる (2) (emerging change)

• Reading: くる
• Romaji: kuru
• Formation: Verb て-form + くる/きます
• Kanji breakdown: 来 (らい/く.る) — come, arrive

Meaning

An auxiliary verb construction where くる follows the て form to express that a process or change has begun and progressed up to the present moment. It describes an emerging or continuing change observed from the speaker's current perspective.

This temporal use of てくる indicates that a change or state has been developing from some point in the past up to the present. The speaker perceives the change as having gradually approached or accumulated over time. Common scenarios include weather changes, emotional shifts, physical sensations, and social trends. This contrasts with the temporal use of ていく, which projects changes forward into the future. てくる looks backward from the present, while ていく looks forward. For example, 寒くなってきた means 'it has gotten cold' (change up to now), while 寒くなっていく means 'it will keep getting cold' (change from now onward). The pattern works naturally with change-of-state verbs and adjectives describing gradual transitions.

Examples

1. だんだんお腹が空いてきた。 I have gradually gotten hungry.
2. 最近日本語が分かるようになってきました。 Recently I have come to understand Japanese.
3. 空が暗くなってきた。 The sky has gotten dark.

Usage Guide

Context: spoken, written, everyday

Tone: reflective

Do Say

• 最近仕事が忙しくなってきた。
• 少しずつ春の気配を感じるようになってきました。
• 練習のおかげで上手になってきた。

Don't Say

• だんだん暖かくなっていく。(Using ていく to describe a change that has already occurred up to now — use てきた for past-to-present change) → だんだん暖かくなってきた。
• 最近疲れがたまっていった。(Using ていった for a state you currently feel building — use てきた for changes experienced up to the present) → 最近疲れがたまってきた。

Origin & History

The temporal meaning of てくる is a metaphorical extension of physical movement toward the speaker. Just as something physically approaches, a change or state is perceived as 'coming toward' the speaker's present moment, creating the sense of gradual emergence.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal