〜てきた: 'Has Been Doing / Has Come To' (Meaning + Examples)
Continuation up to now
With verbs describing an ongoing activity, 〜てきた means that activity has continued from some point in the past right up to the present.
やったんは10年間、日本語を勉強してきた。
やったんは じゅうねんかん、にほんごを べんきょう してきた。
Yattan has been studying Japanese for 10 years now.
てきた frames the whole span as leading up to this moment.
もちはずっとこの店で働いてきた。
もちは ずっと この みせで はたらいてきた。
Mochi has been working at this shop the whole time.
Gradual change reaching the present
With change verbs, 〜てきた means a change has been happening bit by bit and has reached its current state — "has come to be" or "has gotten."
最近、日本語が上手になってきた。
さいきん、にほんごが じょうずに なってきた。
Lately, my Japanese has gotten better (and it's still improving).
なってきた marks a gradual change arriving at the present, unlike the sudden なった alone.
Form: Verb-て + きた
| Attaches to | Pattern | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Verb (て-form) | Vてきた (continuation) | 頑張ってきた（has been trying hard） |
| Verb (て-form) | Vてきた (gradual change) | 増えてきた（has been increasing） |
| Verb (て-form) | Vてくる (future counterpart) | 雨が降ってくるだろう（it'll start raining） |
この街も少しずつ変わってきた。
この まちも すこしずつ かわってきた。
This town, too, has been gradually changing.
てきた vs. ていた: past-to-now vs. a frozen past state
〜ていた simply describes a state or action that was true at some past point, with no claim about now (走っていた = "was running," at that time, period). 〜てきた explicitly draws a line from the past to the present moment — the action or change is still relevant or ongoing right now. 病気が治ってきた ("I've been recovering, and I'm still recovering") feels very different from 病気が治っていた ("I had recovered," a closed fact about the past).
The short version
- 〜てきた = "has been doing" (continuation), "has come to" (gradual change), or literal "came doing."
- Attaches to: the て-form of a verb; きた is the past tense of 来る.
- Nuance/register: neutral; frequently paired with duration words (ずっと、10年間、だんだん).
- Don't confuse with: 〜ていた, a past state with no link to the present moment.
Practice it
Choose てきた when an action or change has continued from the past up to right now.
＿＿＿に入れるのに最もよいものを選びなさい。
モチは子どもの頃からずっとピアノを＿＿＿。
Where 〜てきた fits
Shaky on this? Get these solid first
- Past Tense · N5 — The plain past た-form means 'did.' It follows the same sound changes as the て-form (just て→た, で→だ): 食べた, 行った, 飲んだ. Learn it by verb group.
- 〜てください · N5 — 〜てください is the standard way to politely ask someone to do something ('please do…'). Learn the formation, the negative 〜ないでください, softer variations, and see clear examples.
- 〜てくる · N4 — 〜てくる has three core uses: go do something and come back, a change that has built up until now, and something approaching you in space or time. Learn each, plus how it differs from 〜ていく.
More N2 grammar to explore
Keep going with related patterns at the same level:
- 〜てこない — 〜てこない is the negative of 〜てくる — it says an action or change that was expected to approach or arrive simply hasn't happened. It negates the 'coming toward the present' meaning of てくる, not just plain 来る.
- 〜を通じて — 〜を通じて means 'through/by means of X' (a channel or medium) or, with a time period, 'throughout X'; near-identical to を通して, but leans slightly more toward indirect channels and continuous stretches of time.
- 〜につき — につき has two separate uses: attached to a noun of quantity it means 'per' (１ダースにつき３ドル), while attached to a reason noun in formal notices it means 'due to / because of' (本日休業につき).
- 〜てみたところ — 〜てみたところ attaches to the te-form of a verb to mean 'when I tried doing X, [result]' — it reports the outcome of an attempt, often something unexpected. Common in reports and narration of experiments or trials.
- 〜ほど — 〜ほど expresses degree or extent — 'to the point that,' as in 目の玉が飛び出るほど高い ('so expensive your eyes pop out'). It measures how far something goes by describing a vivid consequence or comparison.
- 〜に比べて — 〜に比べて attaches to a noun and means 'compared to / in comparison with,' setting up a baseline before stating how something differs from it: 去年に比べて、今年は暑い ('compared to last year, this year is hot').