Word
Kana: ともなう Romaji: tomonau Level: N1

伴う

Meaning in English

to accompany, to bring with

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Dictionary

Word context

What it means

What does 伴う mean? It means to accompany or go with someone or something, and to involve or entail a circumstance or consequence; used when an action or situation occurs together with another thing, sometimes indicating accompanying people, events, or conditions.

Main meanings

  • physical accompaniment: the act of being with or bringing along a person or object
  • inclusion or consequence: something that comes along with another, such as risks or responsibilities
  • coexistence with a condition or event: describes features or phenomena that occur together

How to use it

Used with nouns to indicate something comes with another thing; in everyday speech it attaches to nouns with を/が to indicate what accompanies; in formal writing it often appears in technical, legal, or descriptive contexts such as weather, risk, or responsibilities. For example: 日常会話では友人を伴って来る, 仕事で責任を伴う, 雨を伴う天候.

Variants and close terms

  • 同伴する (どうはんする) — physical accompaniment
  • 付き添う (つきそう) — accompany for support
  • 付随する (ふずいする) — be incidental or attached
  • 伴随する (はんずいする) — attend; more formal

Composition

  • 伴: to accompany, presence; core sense of companionship
  • う: verb suffix turning it into a verb; marks the action

Etymology

etymology The term combines the kanji 伴 meaning companion with the verb-ending う, forming a native kun'yomi verb; the contemporary spelling reflects centuries of orthographic standardization in modern Japanese.

Word class

verb (五段動詞)

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