出でくわす

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JLPTN1Freq.FrequencyTop 20,000

出くわす · godan verb (-su)

Form	Positive	Negative
Dictionary	出でくわす	出でくわさない
Polite	出でくわします	出でくわしません
Past polite	出でくわしました	出でくわしませんでした
Past	出でくわした	出でくわさなかった
Te-form	出でくわして	出でくわさないで
Desire	出でくわしたい	出でくわしたくない
Potential	出でくわせる	出でくわせない
Passive	出でくわされる	出でくわされない
Causative	出でくわさせる	出でくわさせない
Causative passive	出でくわさせられる	出でくわさせられない
Volitional	出でくわそう
Polite volitional	出でくわしましょう
Imperative	出でくわせ	出でくわすな
Conditional	出でくわせば	出でくわさなければ
Tara conditional	出でくわしたら	出でくわさなかったら

Meanings

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.

See all 17 example sentences ›

Usage patterns

〈人ひと〉に出でくわすto run into someone by chance
駅えきで偶ぐう然ぜん、昔むかしの同どう僚りょうに出でくわした。
I happened to run into a former colleague at the station.
〈事こと〉に出でくわすto stumble upon an unexpected situation or incident
通とおりがかりで喧けん嘩かの現げん場ばに出でくわした。
I happened upon a fight while passing by.
〈物もの〉に出でくわすto come across something (or an animal) unexpectedly
山やま道みちでクマに出でくわした。
I ran into a bear on the mountain trail.

Kanji

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

Related words

出で会あうN3
出会う is the general, common word for meeting someone (often a first or meaningful encounter), while 出くわす stresses that the meeting was purely accidental and unplanned.
遭そう遇ぐうN1
遭遇する is a more formal, often written word used for encountering something surprising or dangerous, whereas 出くわす is casual and used in everyday speech.
鉢はち合あわせ
鉢合わせする specifically describes an awkward or embarrassing chance meeting with a particular person, while 出くわす is broader and can apply to people, events, or things.
居い合あわせる
出くわす focuses on unexpectedly running into a person or event, whereas 居合わせる focuses on simply being present when something happens.

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.

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.