に沿って・
You follow a line and stay with it. The line can be a river or a road, or it can be a plan, a policy or what someone has asked for.
in line with
We will carry out the survey in line with the plan.
How to form it
Noun + に沿って／に沿い
に沿い is the stiff one, for notices and business mail. Before a noun it is に沿った: テーマに沿った写真, photos that follow the theme.
- Before it
- Something long: 川, 道, 線路, 壁, 海岸. Or something that sets a course: 計画, 方針, マニュアル, テーマ, 希望.
- Where you'll meet it
- "Along" is everyday. "In line with" is office and official language.
- As a noun
- 川沿い, 線路沿い: the riverside, beside the tracks. Here it is read ぞい.
In use
Pine trees stand in a row along the coastline.
Please submit three photographs that follow the theme.
In line with the new operating policy, we will review the reception procedures.
The polite no
沿う is a verb too, and a polite refusal often uses it: "we can't do as you hoped".
We are very sorry that we cannot do as you wished.
Also written 添えず.
Close neighbours
に合わせてN3
You shape something so that it fits a size, a time or a pace.
You adjust the height of the desk as the child grows.
に従ってN2
You do what an instruction, a rule or a sign tells you to do.
Please follow the staff's instructions and move to your assigned seat.
に基づいてN2
What is decided or done rests on a rule, a standard or the facts, and sticks to them.
The committee identified the cause of the accident based on the evidence submitted.
に応えてN2
"In response to" a request, a hope or an expectation, and what follows meets it.
Living up to local expectations, the team advanced to the final.
Check yourself
1Which one fits?
会場の
Choose an answer to see why.
2You applied for a job and this came back. What is it telling you?
今回は
Choose an answer to see why.
More sentences
We installed shelves along the wall.
A bicycle path runs along the riverbank.
We inspected the equipment following the manual.
We have prepared a proposal in line with the client's requests.