あり合あわせ

あ

り

あ

わ

せ

Common wordJLPTN1Freq.FrequencyTop 100,000

Meanings

noun which may take the genitive case particle 'no', noun

on hand; readily available

usually written using kana alone

Describes something that is already at hand without special preparation, often used for making do with what is available.

あり合あわせの材ざい料りょうで夕ゆう食しょくを作つくった。
I made dinner with whatever ingredients I had on hand.
あり合あわせの服ふくでパーティーに行いくしかなかった。
I had no choice but to go to the party in whatever clothes I had available.

See all 10 example sentences ›

Usage patterns

あり合あわせの〈物もの〉で〈動どう詞し〉to do something using whatever is on hand
あり合あわせの材ざい料りょうで夕ゆう食しょくを作つくった。
I made dinner with whatever ingredients I had on hand.
あり合あわせで済すませるto get by with what's available
今日きょうはあり合あわせで済すませよう。
Let's just make do with what we have today.

Kanji

合fit, suit, join
有possess, have, exist

Related words

手て持もち
手持ち focuses on what one currently possesses or is carrying, while あり合わせ emphasizes using whatever happens to be available without special preparation.
間まに合あわせN1
間に合わせ stresses a temporary, improvised solution to fill a need, whereas あり合わせ simply describes items already on hand that are used as they are.

Word family

有あり合あわせる
happen to have on hand; be available (by chance)

Written forms

あり合あわせUsage32%
Kana spelling is standard; usually written in kana.
ありあわせUsage61%
有あり合あわせUsage5%
Kanji spelling seen in some contexts, but kana is more common.
有あり合あわせUsage2%
search-only kanji form
Search-only kanji form; not a standard modern spelling.

Etymology

Compound of あり (continuative form of ある, 'to exist') + 合わせ (continuative form of 合わせる, 'to put together'), literally 'existing and put together', referring to things that happen to be at hand.