entgegenkommen

Entgegenkommen is a German noun (das Entgegenkommen) that denotes willingness to accommodate someone else’s wishes, needs, or interests. It can refer to a single concession or to a broader spirit of cooperation and flexibility. In usage, it often appears in contexts such as negotiations, customer relations, and workplace interactions, where one party makes an effort to meet the requirements or preferences of another.

Etymology and usage details: The term derives from entge­genkommen, formed from entgegen (toward or to meet) and kommen (to come). As a verb, entge­genkommen is separable: im Präsens lautet the form kommt … entgegen (Er kommt dem Vorschlag entgegen), and in the perfect tense it becomes ist ... entgegengekommen. The noun das Entgegenkommen can take modifiers such as großes Entgegenkommen or wenig Entgegenkommen and is typically used in the dative construction: jdm. Entgegenkommen zeigen.

Relation to related concepts: Entgegenkommen is related to ideas such as Gefälligkeit, Kompromissbereitschaft, and Kooperation, but it emphasizes the practical act of accommodating or adjusting to someone’s needs rather than the abstract idea of compromise alone. It is distinct from negative or uncompromising stances and is often perceived positively in professional and interpersonal contexts.

Examples: The company showed Entgegenkommen by extending the payment terms for the client. The manager’s Entgegenkommen gegenüber the concerns of the staff was noted during the meeting. The term can describe both voluntary acts of consideration and formal concessions in negotiations.