迎える (むかえる, mukaeru) Japanese meaning: meet | Kotomora

迎むかえる

む

か

え

る

Common wordJLPTN5Freq.FrequencyTop 2,000

迎える · ichidan verb

Form	Positive	Negative
Dictionary	迎むかえる	迎むかえない
Polite	迎むかえます	迎むかえません
Past polite	迎むかえました	迎むかえませんでした
Past	迎むかえた	迎むかえなかった
Te-form	迎むかえて	迎むかえないで
Desire	迎むかえたい	迎むかえたくない
Potential	迎むかえられるalso 迎むかえれる	迎むかえられないalso 迎むかえれない
Passive	迎むかえられる	迎むかえられない
Causative	迎むかえさせる	迎むかえさせない
Causative passive	迎むかえさせられる	迎むかえさせられない
Volitional	迎むかえよう
Polite volitional	迎むかえましょう
Imperative	迎むかえろ	迎むかえるな
Conditional	迎むかえれば	迎むかえなければ
Tara conditional	迎むかえたら	迎むかえなかったら

Meanings

ichidan verb, transitive verb

meet; welcome; greet

Going out to meet someone arriving, or receiving a visitor with hospitality. Covers meeting at a station, welcoming guests, and formal greetings.

駅えき

Kanji

迎welcome, meet, greet
邀go to meet, call

Related words

出で迎むかえるN3sense 1
出迎える specifically means going out to meet someone arriving (e.g. at a station), while 迎える is broader and also covers welcoming guests at home or inviting people.
招しょう待たいN4sense 2
招待する means to formally invite someone to an event, whereas 迎える in this sense focuses on the act of calling or summoning someone (like a doctor or specialist) to come.
受うけ入いれるN2sense 3
受け入れる is the neutral word for accepting someone or something into a system or group, while 迎える in this sense adds a nuance of warmly welcoming that person, as in marriage or adoption.
待まち受うけるN1
迎える focuses on actively welcoming or receiving someone/something upon arrival, while 待ち受ける emphasizes the waiting period beforehand.

Opposites

見み送おくるN3sense 1
見送る means to see someone off when they leave, the opposite of 迎える, which means to go meet and welcome someone when they arrive.
帰かえすN2
帰す means to send someone away or back home, while 迎える means to welcome or receive someone coming in.
送おくるN5
迎える means to welcome or greet someone on arrival, the opposite of 送る's sense of seeing someone off.

Don't confuse with

向むかうN4
向かう means to head toward or face a direction, while 迎える means to go meet or welcome someone coming toward you; learners sometimes confuse them because both share the kanji 向/迎 and involve movement toward something.
迎げい撃げき
迎える shares the kanji 迎 and means to welcome or receive someone, while 迎撃 uses the same kanji to mean intercepting and attacking an incoming threat.
迎むかえ撃うつ
迎える means 'to welcome or greet' someone warmly, while 迎え撃つ shares the first character but means to confront and attack an approaching enemy.

Word family· 17

お迎むかえ
receiving; welcoming; going to meet; person sent to pick up · final call; call of fate; approach of death
出で迎むかえN3
meeting; reception; greeting (someone arriving)
迎むかえ撃うつ
intercept and attack; engage the enemy; confront an approaching force
迎むか

Written forms

迎むかえるUsage96%
Standard kanji spelling for all senses; high-frequency word.
むかえるUsage4%
邀むかえるUsage<1%
rarely-used kanji form
Rare kanji form; it is rarely used. Learners should use 迎える.

Etymology

Derived from classical Japanese verb むかふ (向かう, 'to face, go toward') with the suffix ゆ, which later became える. The original sense of going to meet someone evolved into the modern meanings of welcoming, inviting, and reaching a point in time.

迎むかえる

Meanings

Usage patterns

Expressions