This shows something started in the past. It has continued until now. Or it has changed until now.
Verb [て-form] + くるPrimary
This shows something started in the past. It has continued until now. Or it has changed until now.
最近、日本語が少しずつ分かってきました。
Recently, I've gradually come to understand Japanese.
コンビニでジュースを買ってくるね。
I'm going to go buy some juice at the convenience store (and come back), okay?
急に空が暗くなってきて、雨が降り出した。
Suddenly the sky grew dark, and it started to rain.
色々試したが、どうしてもその意味が分かってこなかった。
I tried various things, but I just couldn't come to understand its meaning.
弊社は長年にわたり、この技術を研究してまいりました。
Our company has been researching this technology for many years (up to the present).
This grammar is about something moving towards you. It can be a person moving closer. Or it can be a feeling growing inside you. It starts somewhere else and comes to your current spot or time.
This is different from "〜ていく" (te iku). "〜てくる" shows something coming to you now. "〜ていく" shows something going away from you now. For example, "It has gotten warm (up to now)" uses "〜てくる". "It will get warm (from now on)" uses "〜ていく".
Use this when you want to tell a story. It shows how things happened over time. It helps explain what led to now. You are sharing your own experience.
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