llegar
to arrive
A verb centered on the idea of arriving
Encoding Strategies:
repetition
Llegar means to arrive, as in reaching a destination.
llegar
to arrive, to get
To arrive at or get to a place.
- El tren llega a las ocho = The train arrives at eight
- ¿A qué hora llegaste a casa? = What time did you get home?
to reach, to become (status or level)
To arrive at a position, status, or level.
- Llegó a ser directora de la empresa = She became director of the company
- El precio llegó a cien euros = The price reached a hundred euros
to reach, to come up to (physical)
To physically reach or extend to a point.
- El agua me llegaba a la rodilla = The water came up to my knee
- No llego al estante de arriba = I can't reach the top shelf
to reach, to come to (conclusion)
To arrive at a conclusion or agreement after a process.
- Llegamos a un acuerdo después de horas de negociación = We came to an agreement after hours of negotiation
- ¿Cómo llegaste a esa conclusión? = How did you come to that conclusion?
to be enough, to suffice
Just like a rope that doesn't physically reach, money or resources can fail to reach far enough — like English "my salary doesn't cover it."
- ¿Te llega el cable? = Is the cable long enough?
- No me llega el sueldo para pagar el alquiler = My salary isn't enough to cover the rent
to come, to arrive (time)
When a moment or event finally arrives, it "reaches" the present.
- Por fin llegó el verano = Summer finally came
- Llegó el momento de tomar una decisión = The moment to make a decision arrived
to manage to, to end up
To arrive at the point of doing something — you finally get there and do it.
- ¿Llegaste a ver la película? = Did you manage to see the film?
- Llegó a reunir una gran colección de libros = He ended up building a large book collection
llegarse
to go over to, to come by, to pop over to
Literally "to bring oneself to arrive at" — physically bringing oneself closer to something. "Arriving" implies you're already close to begin with, meaning wherever you're going is a casual, quick trip.
- Llégate a la tienda y cómprame leche = Go over to the store and buy me some milk
- Llégate a mi casa esta tarde = Come by my place this afternoon