見み当あたる

み

あ

た

る

見当たる · godan verb (-ru)

Form	Positive	Negative
Dictionary	見み当あたる	見み当あたらない
Polite	見み当あたります	見み当あたりません
Past polite	見み当あたりました	見み当あたりませんでした
Past	見み当あたった	見み当あたらなかった
Te-form	見み当あたって	見み当あたらないで
Desire	見み当あたりたい	見み当あたりたくない
Potential	見み当あたれる	見み当あたれない
Passive	見み当あたられる	見み当あたられない
Causative	見み当あたらせる	見み当あたらせない
Causative passive	見み当あたらせられるalso 見み当あたらされる	見み当あたらせられないalso 見み当あたらされない
Volitional	見み当あたろう
Polite volitional	見み当あたりましょう
Imperative	見み当あたれ	見み当あたるな
Conditional	見み当あたれば	見み当あたらなければ
Tara conditional	見み当あたったら	見み当あたらなかったら

Meanings

godan verb (-ru), intransitive verb

be found; be located; turn up

Intransitive verb used when something one is looking for is found or located, often in negative or question forms to express that it cannot be found.

鍵かぎがどこにも見み当あたらない。
The key is nowhere to be found.
探さがしていた本ほんがやっと見み当あたった。
The book I was looking for finally turned up.

See all 14 example sentences ›

Usage patterns

〈物もの〉が見み当あたらないX cannot be found (despite looking)
さっきまであった鍵かぎが見み当あたらない。
The key that was here a moment ago is nowhere to be found.
どこにも見み当あたらないto be nowhere to be found
探さがしたが、彼かれの姿すがたはどこにも見み当あたらなかった。
I looked everywhere, but he was nowhere to be found.

Kanji

見see, hopes, chances
当hit, right, appropriate

Related words

見みつかるN4
見つかる is the more common, general word for 'be found/discovered', while 見当たる specifically describes searching for something (often failing, as in 見当たらない).

Opposites

見み当あたらない
見当たる means 'to be found/spotted', while 見当たらない is its negative form meaning 'cannot be found'.

Don't confuse with

見けん当とうN3
見当 is a noun meaning 'estimate' or 'guess' (見当をつける), whereas 見当たる is a verb meaning 'to be found'; learners often confuse them because they share the same kanji.
心こころ当あたりN2
見当たる means 'to be found/located' (as in 鍵が見当たらない), while 心当たり is a noun meaning 'an idea or clue about something,' despite sharing the kanji 当たり.
思おもい当あたるN1
見当たる looks similar because it also ends in 当たる, but it means 'to be found' (usually in the negative, 見当たらない), unlike 思い当たる's meaning of a memory or idea coming to mind.

Written forms

見み当あたるUsage67%
Standard kanji spelling; high-frequency news and common usage.
見みあたるUsage19%
Variant with okurigana あ instead of 当; less common but still encountered.
見み当あたるUsage12%
Older or abbreviated okurigana variant; rarely used in modern writing.
みあたるUsage3%

Etymology

Compound of 見 (mi, 'see') and 当たる (ataru, 'hit, be right'). The combination conveys the idea of 'seeing and hitting upon' something, i.e., finding it.