Giungere, arrivare: what's the difference?

In this lesson, we're going to talk about two verbs that have to do with getting from one place to another, at least in their simple, literal meaning. Arrivare is the verb whose meaning we can guess most easily, since it has an English cognate, "to arrive."

We also might recognize the noun form in its plural: gli arrivi. We see this on signs at train stations and airports and can guess it means "arrivals." The opposite is partenze (departures).

Ah, il mio volo arriva un'ora dopo il tuo. Aspettami agli arrivi, eh.

Ah, my flight arrives one hour later than yours. Wait for me at "arrivals," huh.

Captions 60-61, Sei mai stata sulla Luna? film - Part 2

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While the basic meaning of arriving somewhere is pretty clear, Italians also use the verb arrivare in a slightly different way, which is good to know about. It's used in the present tense to mean one's arrival is imminent. In English, we use the future tense: "I'll/we'll be right there."

Sì, arriviamo. Arrivo. Arrivo.

Yes, we'll be right there. I'll be right there. I'm coming.

Captions 28-29, Il Commissario Manara S2EP8 - Fuori servizio - Part 1

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Used in the present progressive or continuous, it means "I'm on my way." 

Sto arrivando, apparecchia per due.

I'm on my way, set the table for two.

Caption 62, Il Commissario Manara S2EP3 - Delitto tra le lenzuola - Part 11

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This can be frustrating for the person waiting because it is very vague, sometimes purposely so. Sometimes the person hasn't left yet. It would be clearer to say: 

Sto partendo (I'm leaving).

Arrivo tra una mezz'ora (I'll arrive in a half an hour).

Giungere has to do with completion. It comes from a Latin word meaning "to unite." An attentive reader might think of the English words, "junction," "conjunction," and even "to join." In fact, the Italian verb congiungere means "to join," or "to connect."

"Vedere la luce" vuol dire nascere e, in senso figurativo, significa giungere a compimento di qualcosa.

"To see the light [of day]" means being born and, in a figurative sense, it means reaching the completion of something.

Captions 81-82, Marika spiega Il verbo vedere - Part 1

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È giunto il momento di lasciare questo luogo, un luogo meraviglioso.

The time has come to leave this place, a wonderful place.

Captions 1-2, Meraviglie EP. 5 - Part 11

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In the previous two examples, the verb arrivare could have been used, but giungere is more archaic and more formal, as well as being more specific in referring to a destination or goal. 

On the other hand, we also have the verb raggiungere, which is used very often to mean "to join," "to catch up with," "to reach." It's transitive, therefore taking a direct object, whereas giungere needs the preposition a (to).

Non è facile raggiungere Borgo Sansepolcro.

It is not easy to reach Borgo Sansepolcro.

Caption 4, La pittura più bella del mondo La Resurrezione di Piero della Francesca - Part 1

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Sì, tu vai. Io ti raggiungo tra una mezz'ora.

Yes. You go. I'll join you in a half an hour.

Caption 40, Questione di Karma Rai Cinema - Part 12

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When raggiungere means "to join," it is usually directed towards a person as in the previous example. Join can't always be translated as raggiungere. 

If you want to talk about catching up with someone, raggiungere can work. 

Vai avanti tu, che io ti raggiungo.

You go on ahead, I'll catch up with you.

Caption 31, Ma che ci faccio qui! Un film di Francesco Amato - Part 8

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If you do a search of raggiungere (or any of its conjugations), you will find plenty of examples on the videos page. It is a verb you will want in your toolbox.