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
N3
出会う
deau
meet, encounter, come across
N3
提出
teishutsu
submission, handing in
N3
出
de
outflow, coming (going) out, graduate (of)
N3
出合い
deai
an encounter
N3
出来事
dekigoto
incident happening, event
N3
飛び出す
tobidasu
to jump out, to rush out, to fly out
N4
思い出す
omoidasu
remember, recall
N4
引き出し
hikidashi
drawer
N4
出発
shuppatsu
departure, start
Kanji