Why Venir Is More Than "To Come"
Venir describes movement toward the place where the speaker or the listener is. That much is easy. But in everyday Spanish it also tells people what suits you, which week you mean, where something comes from, and when a comment is out of place.
Learn these six patterns as whole chunks and you will understand them faster when you hear them, and use them without building each sentence from scratch.
Pattern 1: Venir a + infinitive — "Come to do something"
Use venir a plus a verb to give the reason someone comes: to see, to ask, to help, to eat. It is the natural frame for explaining why you showed up.
- Vengo a pedirte un favor. — I've come to ask you a favor.
- ¿Vienes a cenar el viernes? — Are you coming for dinner on Friday?
- Vinieron a vernos ayer. — They came to see us yesterday.
Chunk to learn:
Venir a + [infinitive]
Pattern 2: Me viene bien / mal — "That suits me"
This is the chunk learners rarely get taught, and natives use all the time. Venir bien means something is convenient, welcome, or just what you needed. Venir mal means the timing or the idea does not suit you.
- Me viene bien el sábado. — Saturday works for me.
- No me viene bien ahora, ¿te llamo luego? — It's not a good time for me right now, can I call you later?
- Un café nos vendría muy bien. — A coffee would do us good.
Chunk to learn:
Me / te / le / nos viene bien (mal) + [time / thing]
Pattern 3: Venir de — "Come from"
Venir de gives the origin: a place you are coming from, a word's source, or a trait that runs in a family. It answers the question ¿De dónde viene…?
- Vengo de la oficina. — I'm coming from the office.
- ¿De dónde viene esa palabra? — Where does that word come from?
- Eso le viene de familia. — It runs in the family.
Chunk to learn:
Venir de + [place / source]
Pattern 4: La semana que viene — "Next week"
Spanish speakers often say que viene, literally that is coming, instead of próximo. It sounds natural and conversational, and it attaches to any time word.
- La semana que viene tengo un examen. — I have an exam next week.
- El año que viene nos mudamos a Madrid. — Next year we're moving to Madrid.
- Nos vemos el mes que viene. — See you next month.
Chunk to learn:
El / la + [time word] + que viene
Pattern 5: No viene al caso — "That's beside the point"
Venir al caso means to be relevant. Say it with no to point out that something does not belong in the conversation. Its companion question, ¿A qué viene eso?, asks "where did that come from?" and is often a polite way to push back.
- Eso no viene al caso. — That's beside the point.
- ¿A qué viene eso ahora? — Why are you bringing that up now?
- ¿A qué viene tanto enfado? — What's all the anger about?
Chunk to learn:
No viene al caso / ¿A qué viene + [eso / tanto + noun]?
Pattern 6: Ven / Venga / Vente — "Come here / come along"
The commands of venir are short and constantly used. Ven calls someone over, vente invites them to come along with you, and in Spain ¡venga! also works as "come on!" to hurry or encourage.
- Ven aquí, te enseño algo. — Come here, I'll show you something.
- Vente a cenar con nosotros. — Come and have dinner with us.
- ¡Venga, que llegamos tarde! — Come on, we're going to be late! (Spain)
Chunk to learn:
Ven / Vente + [place / invitation]
Venir vs. Ir: The English Trap
English says "I'm coming!" when someone calls you. Spanish speakers usually answer ¡Ya voy!, using ir, because they are heading toward the other person's place. Ya vengo exists too, but it tends to mean "I'll be right back". For the full range of ir, read our [Ir] Chunks guide, and for arriving and meeting up see [Llegar] Chunks and [Quedar] Chunks.
Start with me viene bien and la semana que viene. You will hear both within a day of living in Spanish.
This post is part of the Spanish Chunk Series — a growing collection of chunk patterns for natural Spanish.