Word
出くわす
Meaning in Englishto happen to meet, to come across
Animated kanji stroke order
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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
N2
出入口
deiriguchi
exit and entrance
N2
出入り口
deiriguchi
exit and entrance
N2
出来上がり
dekiagari
be finished, ready
N2
出来上がる
dekiagaru
to be finished, to be ready
N2
出迎え
demukae
meeting, reception
N2
出迎える
demukaeru
to meet, to greet
N2
取り出す
toridasu
to take out, to pick out
N2
引き出す
hikidasu
to pull out, to take out, to withdraw
N2
日の出
hinode
sunrise
Kanji