🎧 Audio by Marie Assel Cambier — native speaker & pro voice artist from France
The French Word of the Day is venir, which means to come. In this lesson you’ll see how to use it in everyday sentences, learn the handy venir de expression (to say you’ve just done something), and review its present-tense conjugation.
📘 Meaning of venir
Venir is an irregular French verb meaning “to come,” used when someone is moving toward the person speaking (Il vient chez moi – He’s coming to my house) or coming from a specific place (Il vient de Paris – He’s coming from Paris).
It also appears in expressions like venir de + infinitive (to have just done something) and in compound verbs such as revenir (to come back) and devenir (to become).
🎧 Pronunciation of venir
Venir is pronounced /və.niʁ/ — roughly “vuh-neer.”
📝 5 French and English Examples
Venir – to come
Je viens à la fête ce soir avec mes amis.
I’m coming to the party tonight with my friends.
Il vient de rentrer à la maison après le travail.
He just got home after work.
Tu vas venir avec nous demain matin ?
Are you going to come with us tomorrow morning?
Ma mère vient me chercher à l’école.
My mother is coming to pick me up at school.
Ils viennent à Paris pour les vacances scolaires.
They are coming to Paris for the school holidays.
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Related words & expressions
Related verbs
- revenir – to come back, return
- devenir – to become
- provenir (de) – to come from, originate from
- parvenir (à) – to manage to, to succeed in
- intervenir – to intervene
Common expressions
- venir de + infinitif – to have just done something
Je viens de manger. – I just ate. - ça (ne) vient pas – it’s not coming (e.g., idea, solution)
- venir à l’esprit – to come to mind
- faire venir quelqu’un – to send for someone / to have someone come
- à venir – upcoming
Les événements à venir. – The upcoming events. - qui vient de loin – who comes from far away
Coming from places (venir de + place)
- Il vient de France. – He comes from France.
- Elle vient du Canada. – She comes from Canada.
- Nous venons d’Italie. – We come from Italy.
- Ils viennent des États-Unis. – They come from the USA.
👉 See also: Convenir (to be suitable for) examples and usage »
🚀 Related lessons
👉 Venir conjugation chart »
👉 Recent past tense »
👉 Je suis venu te dire que je m’en vais (song) »
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