出でくわす

で

く

わ

す

JLPTN1Freq.FrequencyTop 20,000

Meanings

1

godan verb (-su), intransitive verb

happen to meet; come across; run into; bump into

Describes an unexpected, chance encounter with a person or thing. Often used for meetings that are not planned.

駅えきで偶ぐう然ぜん、昔むかしの友とも達だちに出でくわした。
I happened to run into an old friend at the station.

山やま道みちで熊くまに出でくわすなんて思おもわなかった。

I never thought I'd come across a bear on the mountain trail.

Written forms

出でくわすUsage88%
Standard kanji spelling; the most common written form.
でくわすUsage9%
出で喰くわすUsage2%
rarely-used kanji form
Rarely used kanji form.
出会でくわすUsage1%
rarely-used kanji form
Rarely used kanji form; learners should recognize but not produce it.
出交でくわすUsage<1%
rarely-used kanji form
Rarely used kanji form.

Kanji

出exit, leave, go out
喰eat, drink, receive (a blow)
会meeting, meet, party
交

Similar words

出で会あう
出会う is a more general and common word for meeting someone, often with a nuance of a first or significant encounter. 出くわす emphasizes the accidental, unplanned nature of the meeting.

Etymology

Compound of 出 (de, 'out') and くわす (kuwasu), an old verb meaning 'to meet' or 'to encounter'. The exact origin of くわす is uncertain, but it may be related to 食わす (kuwasu, 'to feed'), though the semantic connection is unclear.

mingle, mixing, association