あわや
Meanings
1
nearly; almost; on the verge of
Used when something bad or dramatic almost happened but was narrowly avoided. Often followed by a phrase describing the averted outcome, such as ～ところだった.
It nearly turned into a major accident.
We almost collided, but avoided it by a hair's breadth.
Usage patterns
- あわや〈事〉というところだったit was almost X (a bad outcome narrowly avoided)
It was almost a major accident.
- あわや〈事〉になるところだったit nearly turned into X
It nearly turned into a collision, but the driver swerved just in time.
- あわやのところで〈動詞〉at the very last moment, narrowly (avoided doing something bad)
He narrowly avoided falling.