zukommt

Zukommt is the third-person singular present form of the German verb zukommen. It denotes coming toward someone or something in a variety of senses, including accruing, befalling, or being due. In many contexts it expresses that a matter or benefit arises for a person or entity, or that an event occurs.

Etymology and sense development: The word is built from the verb kommen with the prefix zu-, plus a meaning shift toward “to come to/for someone” in an abstract sense. In modern usage, zukommen appears both as a simple verb and in fixed expressions where the meaning ranges from “to accrue to” or “to be due to” to “to be sent to someone” in the sense of delivering information or documents.

Common usage:

- Accrual or entitlement: “Ihm kommt ein größerer Anteil zu.” meaning that a larger share accrues to him.

- Beneficial or advantageous effect: “Das Geld kommt dem Staat zugute” meaning the money benefits the state.

- Occurrence or arrival of an event: “Es kommt zu einem Zwischenfall” meaning an incident occurs.

- Delivery or transmission: in the construction “jemandem etwas zukommen lassen,” meaning to send someone something (e.g., an offer or document): “Ich lasse dir das Angebot zukommen.”

Grammatical note: zukommen can take a dative object with „zu“ or with the fixed phrase „zugute kommen.“ It is common in legal, administrative, and formal writing to express rights, obligations, or entitlements using this verb.

See also: zukommen lassen, zugute kommen, kommen.