見つける · ichidan verb
| Form | Positive | Negative |
|---|---|---|
| Dictionary | 見つける | 見つけない |
| Polite | 見つけます | 見つけません |
| Past polite | 見つけました | 見つけませんでした |
| Past | 見つけた | 見つけなかった |
| Te-form | 見つけて | 見つけないで |
| Desire | 見つけたい | 見つけたくない |
| Potential | 見つけられるalso 見つけれる | 見つけられないalso 見つけれない |
| Passive | 見つけられる | 見つけられない |
| Causative | 見つけさせる | 見つけさせない |
| Causative passive | 見つけさせられる | 見つけさせられない |
| Volitional | 見つけよう | |
| Polite volitional | 見つけましょう | |
| Imperative | 見つけろ | 見つけるな |
| Conditional | 見つければ | 見つけなければ |
| Tara conditional | 見つけたら | 見つけなかったら |
ichidan verb, transitive verb
find; discover; spot; come across
The basic transitive sense: to find or notice something, often after looking for it or unexpectedly coming across it.
なくした鍵を机の下で見つけた。
I found the key I had lost under the desk.
I found a nice cafe in front of the station.
ichidan verb, transitive verb
catch someone doing; discover someone in the act
A constructional extension of the finding sense, often used as 〜しているところを見つける or in the passive 見つけられる.
My mother caught my younger brother sneaking bites of the cake.
I was caught cheating by the teacher.
ichidan verb, transitive verb
be used to seeing; be familiar with
Rare and old-fashioned compared with 見慣れる; most likely to be encountered in negative expressions such as 見つけない顔, meaning an unfamiliar face.
If an old novel says “見つけない顔だ,” it is close in meaning to “an unfamiliar face.”
The teacher caught the student running in the hallway.
She finally found a job in Tokyo.
After thinking for hours, I finally found the answer.
探す means the act of searching (the process), while 見つける means to find (the successful result), so 探したが見つからなかった is a common contrast.
見つける implies actively searching for and locating something, whereas 見かける implies an unplanned, incidental sighting.