(Verbs) To arrive ~ Touchaku suru vs Tsuku vs Todoku


Good day to everyone,

I am a student here in Japan studying 日本語 and I was watching a few videos of
Japanese lessons and noticed that there are a lot of verbs that have the same
meaning. For example, `Touchaku suru`, `Tsuku` and `Todoku` all mean "to
arrive". Are there any instances wherein one is used more than the other? Any
help would be much appreciated. Thank you!




Disclaimer: This is based mostly on my own experience.

着く{つく} is the most commonly used verb for "arrive", as in "I've arrived at the
station".

届く{とどく} tends to be used for things or abstract concepts. For example, on
instant messenger, if you send a message and you want to check if the other
person got the message because you didn't get a response, you would use 届く.
You can also use it for feelings; it is commonly used for love, e.g.
私の気持ちが届いたでしょう, which can be properly translated as "I wonder if my feelings
arrived?", but more loosely as "I wonder if you understood my feelings (i.e. I
love you, etc)".

到着する{とうちゃくする} tends to be used for long distances and/or for long-distance
modes of transportation, and especially most commonly for airplanes. For
example, when your airplane lands, you may send a text message to your
friends/family saying 到着した.




Disclaimer: This is based mostly on my own experience.

着く{つく} is the most commonly used verb for "arrive", as in "I've arrived at the
station".

届く{とどく} tends to be used for things or abstract concepts. For example, on
instant messenger, if you send a message and you want to check if the other
person got the message because you didn't get a response, you would use 届く.
You can also use it for feelings; it is commonly used for love, e.g.
私の気持ちが届いたでしょう, which can be properly translated as "I wonder if my feelings
arrived?", but more loosely as "I wonder if you understood my feelings (i.e. I
love you, etc)".

到着する{とうちゃくする} tends to be used for long distances and/or for long-distance
modes of transportation, and especially most commonly for airplanes. For
example, when your airplane lands, you may send a text message to your
friends/family saying 到着した.

