LLearn Japanese

What does the き in this sentence indicate?

  • February 5, 2026

暑くなってきた

I guess this is a type of verb conjugation? I have a decent understanding of Te form, however I feel like I’ve heard a number of sentences with this sort of てきた ending or something similar, but I don’t know what it means or how it affects the meaning of the sentence.

Any help is greatly appreciated, thank you!H

by Jrockten

4 comments

  2. “It has come to be hot”/”it’s been getting hot lately”

    くる and いく can go after the て form of other verbs to talk about gradual changes over time – you “come” from the past and “go” to the future, so てくる means doing the verb gradually/continually up until now, and ていく means doing the verb gradually/continually starting now.

  3. I’m still studying N4, so maybe wait for someone else to chime in, but てきる is basically connecting the verb くる in its past form (きた).

    暑い = hot
    なる = to become
    くる = to come

    Using the て form of なる makes it more of a “currently happening”

    So the てきた basically adds the nuance of “it’s becoming hot” or “it’s coming to be hot” instead of with out it (暑くなった) meaning “it has become hot”.

    Again, I’m also a beginner so take this with a pound of salt. And someone please correct me if wrong.

    Edit: Adding the bunpro lesson here: https://bunpro.jp/grammar_points/%E3%81%A6%E3%81%8F%E3%82%8B

  4. it is not ‘tekita’, but ‘natte’ + ‘kita’:

    **暑く + なって + きた**

    = adjective + “become (verb in -te form)” + “state reached”

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