Nahekommen

Nahekommen is a German verb that means to come close or to approach, either in a physical sense or in a figurative or quantitative sense. It is used when something moves nearer to another object, person, or standard, or when an estimate, goal, or expectation is approached.

In use, nahekommen often takes a dative object referring to what is being approached. For example: Der Preis kommt der Schätzung nahe (The price comes close to the estimate). Der Abstand kommt dem Auto näher (The distance to the car narrows). Metaphorically, it can describe progress toward a goal or solution: Mit dem Vorschlag kommt man der Lösung näher. In this sense, nahekommen can express proximity in discussions of estimates, predictions, or plans.

Grammatically, nahekommen is a full verb. Its perfect form is nahegekommen, used with a form of sein: Der Wert ist der Schätzung nahegekommen. The verb can be conjugated like other strong verbs, and its imperfect is kam näher, for example: Der Wert kam der Schätzung näher.

Related expressions include sich annähern (to approach, to draw near) and näher kommen als Synonyme for approaching a target or result. Unterschiede in nuance may favor nahekommen for closer proximity in quantitative or measured terms, while annähern can be more general or abstract.

Etymology: nahekommen combines nahe (near) and kommen (to come), reflecting the core sense of moving toward something. The term is established in standard German and appears in formal and technical contexts as well as everyday language.