JLPT N4 grammar

〜てくるmeaning and usage

Meaning

  1. To come to A
  2. To continue A..ing; to have become A

How to form it

  • verb (te-form)くる
  • い-adjective (-く form)なってくる
  • な-adjective (stem)/nounになってくる

How it is used

Either going to do something and coming back (「買ってくる」), or a change that has built up until now (「寒くなってきた」). For change from now on, use 「〜ていく」.

Examples

  1. 学校で習う漢字は前よりむずかしくなってきている。

    The kanji I learn at school have gotten more difficult than before.

  2. ちょっとコンビニで飲み物を買ってくるね。

    I'll just go grab a drink at the convenience store.

  3. 日本に来てから、だんだん日本語がわかってきました。

    Since coming to Japan, I've gradually started to understand Japanese.