見合う · godan verb (-u)
| Form | Positive | Negative |
|---|---|---|
| Dictionary | 見合う | 見合わない |
| Polite | 見合います | 見合いません |
| Past polite | 見合いました | 見合いませんでした |
| Past | 見合った | 見合わなかった |
| Te-form | 見合って | 見合わないで |
| Desire | 見合いたい | 見合いたくない |
| Potential | 見合える | 見合えない |
| Passive | 見合われる | 見合われない |
| Causative | 見合わせる | 見合わせない |
| Causative passive | 見合わせられるalso 見合わされる | 見合わせられないalso 見合わされない |
| Volitional | 見合おう | |
| Polite volitional | 見合いましょう | |
| Imperative | 見合え | 見合うな |
| Conditional | 見合えば | 見合わなければ |
| Tara conditional | 見合ったら | 見合わなかったら |
godan verb (-u), transitive verb
look at each other; exchange looks
Describes two or more people looking at each other, often with a sense of mutual recognition or shared feeling.
They silently looked at each other.
Surprised, we looked at each other.
godan verb (-u), intransitive verb
correspond to; be proportionate to; offset
Used when something matches, balances, or is in keeping with something else, often in terms of value, effort, or quality. Common in phrases like 収入に見合う生活 (a lifestyle commensurate with one's income).
I try to live within my means.
That job doesn't offer rewards that match the effort.
His salary doesn't correspond to the amount of work he does.
You should live a lifestyle commensurate with your income.
The two of them, startled, instinctively looked at each other.
相応しい is an adjective describing something as fitting or appropriate for a person or situation, while 見合う is a verb describing a matching relationship between two things.
見交わす specifically means to exchange glances with someone, a narrower and more literary word than the reciprocal 'look at each other' sense of 見合う.
見合う is a broader, more neutral word for two people looking at each other (or things corresponding in value), while 見つめ合う specifically emphasizes an intense, sustained gaze.
見合う specifically describes being commensurate with or balancing against something (like cost and reward), while 合う in this sense is the more general verb for something being worth it.
見合う means to be in balance or proportion with something, close to 準ずる's sense of being proportionate, but 見合う is less formal and not used for rule-following.