arriver

Senses

1. 1.

   to arrive

   to reach a destination or place

2. 2.

   to happen

   to occur or take place

3. 3.

   to succeed; to manage

   to achieve something or manage to do something

Examples

• "Le train arrive à la gare à 14h."

  The train arrives at the station at 2 p.m.

• "Il est arrivé un accident sur l'autoroute."

  An accident happened on the highway.

• "Je n'arrive pas à comprendre cette leçon."

  I can't manage to understand this lesson.

Usage

A common intransitive verb conjugated with *être* in compound tenses. The reflexive form *s'arriver* is rare; note the impersonal construction *il arrive que* (it happens that). In casual speech, *arriver* often means "to manage" or "to succeed" when followed by an infinitive with *à* or *de*.