追い越す · godan verb (-su)
| Form | Positive | Negative |
|---|---|---|
| Dictionary | 追い越す | 追い越さない |
| Polite | 追い越します | 追い越しません |
| Past polite | 追い越しました | 追い越しませんでした |
| Past | 追い越した | 追い越さなかった |
| Te-form | 追い越して | 追い越さないで |
| Desire | 追い越したい | 追い越したくない |
| Potential | 追い越せる | 追い越せない |
| Passive | 追い越される | 追い越されない |
| Causative | 追い越させる | 追い越させない |
| Causative passive | 追い越させられる | 追い越させられない |
| Volitional | 追い越そう | |
| Polite volitional | 追い越しましょう | |
| Imperative | 追い越せ | 追い越すな |
| Conditional | 追い越せば | 追い越さなければ |
| Tara conditional | 追い越したら | 追い越さなかったら |
godan verb (-su), transitive verb
Physical act of passing a moving vehicle, person, or animal from behind. Often used in traffic contexts.
See also: 追い抜く
When passing a slow car, please check for safety.
彼は前を走るランナーを次々と追い越した。
He overtook the runners ahead one after another.
godan verb (-su), transitive verb
surpass; outstrip; get ahead of
Abstract or competitive sense: exceeding someone in ability, rank, sales, etc. Often used when one entity moves ahead of another in a measurable way.
See also: 追い抜く
彼は努力して先輩を追い越し、部長になった。
He worked hard, surpassed his seniors, and became department head.
この新製品は売上で競合他社を追い越した。
This new product outstripped competitors in sales.
I decided not to pass the truck because it looked dangerous.
This month I finally overtook my colleague in sales.
He overtook his rival on the final lap.
In Japan, the rule is to overtake from the right lane.
追い越す means to physically overtake someone (e.g. in a race or on the road), whereas 勝ち越す is specifically about having more wins or taking a scoring lead in competition.
追い越す means to actually overtake and go ahead of someone, while 追い上げる only means closing the gap without necessarily passing them.