Commonly confused
Come about vs Come up
“Come about” and “Come up” look alike but pull in different directions. Here is the quick way to tell them apart — with examples, the mistake to avoid, and a check.
Which one do you mean?
Come about explains how something happened; come up means something arises, approaches, or is mentioned.
Come about
Explain how or why a situation happened.
Come up
An issue arises, an event approaches, or a topic is raised.
come about
- 1
Happen, especially in an unplanned way
- 2
Of a ship, change tack to the opposite side
Correct use
“How did this come about?”
How did this happen?
come up
- 1
Arise as a topic or event
- 2
Create an idea or plan, or find an answer
Correct use
“The subject came up in conversation.”
The subject arose during conversation.
Common mistake
How did this come up to happen?
How did this come about?
For how something happened, use come about.
Test yourself
“How did this come about?” What does it mean?
More pairs to tell apart
Sink In — iOS & Android
Stop mixing them up
Sink In turns confusable pairs like this into quick contrast drills, so the right particle becomes automatic instead of a guess.
- Learn the pattern behind dozens of verbs at once — not one-off translations.
- Spaced repetition (SM-2) brings each meaning back right before you forget.
- Four practice modes train recall and discrimination, not just recognition.
