交わる
Meaning in Englishto cross, to intersect, to mingle with,
Animated kanji stroke order
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Word context
What it means
What does 交わる mean? It means to come into contact or cross with something, and by extension to mingle with people or ideas; it applies to physical intersections as well as social or conceptual convergence.
Main meanings
- to intersect, as lines, roads, rivers
- to come into contact with or mingle with others
- to associate with a group or community
- to exchange or share ideas in a discussion
How to use it
Used across formal and informal registers; in physical contexts it describes lines, paths, or borders crossing; socially it denotes interacting or mingling with others; in abstract contexts it signals convergence of ideas or events.
Variants and close terms
- 接する (sessuru) — to come into contact
- 会う (au) — to meet or interact
- 重なる (kasanaru) — to overlap
Composition
- 交: cross, intersect, exchange
- わる: verb-ending that forms an intransitive action
Etymology
交 contributes the sense of crossing or exchanging; in this verb the kun reading まじ attaches to the verb ending わる to form a native Japanese verb meaning crossing or mingling.
Origin
Native to Japanese; attested in classical literature describing physical crossing as well as social interaction and metaphorical convergence, and common in everyday speech.
Word class
verb (godan)