Chinese word

相遇

Pronunciation

Pinyinxiāng yù

Meaning

  • verbmeet

Example

我们在咖啡店门口相遇了。wǒ men zài kā fēi diàn mén kǒu xiāng yù le

We met at the entrance to the coffee shop.

Illustration for 相遇 (meet)

More examples

他在旧书店里和多年未见的朋友偶然相遇。tā zài jiù shū diàn lǐ hé duō nián wèi jiàn de péng yǒu ǒu rán xiāng yù

He happened to meet a friend he had not seen for years in an old bookstore.

Core concept

Two people cross paths unexpectedly, as if their routes briefly meet.

Common phrases

  • 偶然相遇ǒu rán xiāng yù

    meet by chance

  • 再次相遇zài cì xiāng yù

    meet again

  • 在街上相遇zài jiē shàng xiāng yù

    meet on the street

Similar words

遇到yù dào: To encounter a person or an event unexpectedly.
碰见pèng jiàn: To meet someone unexpectedly at a place, in everyday speech.
遇见yù jiàn: To meet a person or encounter an event by chance.
见面jiàn miàn: To meet someone in person at an agreed time or place.

Definition in Chinese

指两方在没有预先安排或预期的情况下见面，常含偶然性。zhǐ liǎng fāng zài méi yǒu yù xiān ān pái huò yù qī de qíng kuàng xià jiàn miàn cháng hán ǒu rán xìng

Word origin

相 (xiāng, "each other") + 遇 (yù, "encounter") combines mutual contact with meeting, giving the word its sense of people crossing paths by chance.

Usage tips

  • English meet covers both planned and accidental meetings, but this word highlights the accidental kind and often sounds more literary than casual.

Other meanings

  • meetingnoun
  • encounterverb

Opposites

Word lists with this word