Word
出くわす
Meaning in Englishto happen to meet, to come across
Animated kanji stroke order
Sentence
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Word context
What it means
What does 出くわす mean? It means to unexpectedly encounter someone or something, often in everyday life, with a sense of surprise or spontaneity as the encounter was not planned.
Main meanings
- Spontaneous appearances of people or things in daily life
- Encountering a situation or obstacle by chance, often prompting a reaction
- Common in casual speech and narratives; less formal than some Sino-Japanese equivalents
How to use it
Used in casual and semi-formal Japanese to describe meeting someone unexpectedly or encountering a situation by chance. Typical constructions include 出くわす with に or で to mark what is encountered; common in everyday conversation and light narration; Japanese phrases often emphasize the surprise element rather than a planned meeting. 街で友達に出くわす, 珍しい出来事に出くわす, トラブルに出くわす
Variants and close terms
- 遭遇する (sougū suru) – encounter by chance
- 偶然出会う (guuzen de au) – meet by chance
- 出会う (deau) – to meet, often by chance in a broader sense
Composition
- 出: to come out, appear
- くわす: a verb element attached to 出 to form the compound meaning of encountering something by chance; the combination yields the sense of something appearing unexpectedly in front of you
Word class
verb (godan)
Word
Related words by kanji and components
N1
家出
iede
running away from home
N1
出世
shusse
promotion, successful career, eminence
N1
出題
shutsudai
proposing a question
N1
出動
shutsudou
mobilization, action
N1
出費
shuppi
expenses, disbursements
N1
出品
shuppin
exhibit, display
N1
進出
shinshutsu
advancement
N1
脱出
dasshutsu
escape
N1
出直し
denaoshi
adjustment, touch up
Kanji