JLPT N3 · Verb

遭う (au)

遭う (あう, au) is a Japanese verb meaning “to meet; to encounter”. It is usually written in kana. It appears in JLPT N3 vocabulary lists and is marked as a common word in JMdict.

Reading
あう
Romaji
au
Word class
Godan verb (う-verb) ending in う
Level
JLPT N3 (unofficial)

Meaning

  1. to meet; to encounter; to see · godan verb, intransitive · 逢う is often used for close friends, etc. and may be associated with drama or pathos; 遭う may have an undesirable nuance
  2. to have an accident; to have a bad experience · godan verb, intransitive · usually written in kana · esp. 遭う when in kanji

Example sentences

前に彼にあったのを覚えている。
I remember seeing him before.
駅へ行く途中でにわか雨に遭った。
I was caught in a shower on my way to the station.

Sentences from the Tatoeba project, linked to this word in JMdict.

Conjugation of 遭う

Godan verb (う-verb) ending in う. Plain and polite forms below; try any other word in the Japanese verb conjugator.

FormJapaneseReading
Dictionary遭うあう au
Polite (~masu)遭いますあいます aimasu
Negative遭わないあわない awanai
Polite negative遭いませんあいません aimasen
Past遭ったあった atta
Polite past遭いましたあいました aimashita
Negative past遭わなかったあわなかった awanakatta
Te-form遭ってあって atte
Potential遭えるあえる aeru
Passive遭われるあわれる awareru
Causative遭わせるあわせる awaseru
Volitional遭おうあおう aou
Imperative遭えあえ ae
Conditional (~ba)遭えばあえば aeba

Kanji in 遭う

Related words

Other vocabulary sharing a kanji with 遭う.

Source: JMdict entry 1198180 (EDRDG, CC BY-SA 4.0). Level: unofficial JLPT list – how levels are assigned.