All about Arriver

Arriver is one of the most common French verbs. It's a regular -ER verb but takes être in the compound tenses. Arriver literally means "to arrive," but is also used in some idiomatic expressions and as an impersonal verb.

Arriver usually means "to arrive":

À quelle heure vont-ils arriver ?
What time will they arrive?

Je suis arrivé à midi
I arrived at noon

Arriver can also mean "to come, be coming, be en route."

J'arrive !
I'm coming! I'll be right there/back!

Le voici qui arrive
Here he comes now

Arriver à

Arriver à plus a noun means "to reach, attain, get to," literally and figuratively:

Il est vite arrivé à la conclusion évidente
He quickly reached the obvious conclusion

L'eau m'arrive jusqu'aux chevilles
The water reaches/comes up to my ankles

Arriver à plus an infinitive means "to manage to do, succeed in doing":

Je n'arrive pas à trouver mes clés
I can't (manage to) find my keys

David est arrivé à le faire tout seul
David succeeded in doing by himself

To happen

Arriver can mean "to happen":

Ce sont des choses qui arrivent
These things happen

Cela ne m'arrivera plus
I won't let that happen (to me) again

Arriver can also be used impersonally to mean "to happen, occur, be." The difference between this and the preceding examples is that impersonal verbs cannot have any subject other than the impersonal pronoun il:

Il est arrivé un accident
There's been an accident

Quoi qu'il arrive
Whatever happens

Expressions with Arriver


Conjugations

Present tense

j'arrive
tu arrives
il arrive
nous arrivons
vous arrivez
ils arrivent

Arriver in all tenses