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危うく (あやうく, ayauku) Japanese meaning: barely | Kotomora

危あやうく

あ

や

う

く

Common word›JLPTN1›

Meanings

1

barely; narrowly

Used when a negative outcome was narrowly avoided; often followed by ところだった or a negative verb form.

危あやうく電でん車しゃに乗のり遅おくれるところだった

。

I almost missed the train.

彼かれは危あやうく事じ故こに遭あうところだった。

He narrowly avoided an accident.

2

Indicates that something came close to happening, often with a sense of relief that it did not; similar to もう少しで.

危あやうく忘わすれるところだった。
I almost forgot.

Usage patterns

危あやうく〈動どう詞し〉ところだったnarrowly avoided ~ing / came close to ~ing
危あやうく電でん車しゃに乗のり遅おくれるところだった。
I nearly missed the train.
危あやうく〈動どう詞し〉そうになったalmost ended up ~ing (but didn't)
危あやうく転ころびそうになった。
I almost fell over.

Kanji

危dangerous, fear, uneasy

Related words

もう少すこしで sense 2
もう少しで is a neutral, everyday way to say 'almost', while 危うく specifically implies a bad outcome was narrowly avoided.
すんでのところで sense 1
すんでのところで is a more dramatic, literary way of saying 'just barely', while 危うく is the common everyday choice.
あわやN1
危うく and あわや both describe a bad outcome that was narrowly avoided, but 危うく is more common in everyday speech while あわや has a slightly more dramatic, narrative tone.

Don't confuse with

危あぶなく sense 1
危なく is the plain adverb form of 危ない meaning 'dangerously', while 危うく is a set phrase meaning 'narrowly (avoided)', even though they look nearly identical.

Etymology

Adverbial form of the adjective 危うい (あやうい, 'dangerous, critical'). The adverbial use to mean 'barely, almost' developed from the sense of being in a dangerous or critical situation.