邂逅

Etymology

Possibly an expression reduplication in Old Chinese (Baxter and Sagart, 1998). The original meaning may be “meet; interact” or “carefree”.

Schuessler considers this a derivative of 解 (OC *kreːʔ, *kreːs, *ɡreːʔ, *ɡreːs, “to loosen”) and 懈 (OC *kreːs, “lazy, remiss”), citing the sense of “carefree and happy” in Shijing. Numerous variant forms are found throughout history.

Pronunciation

Verb

邂逅

1. to run into somebody by chance (usually pleasantly); to encounter coincidentally

   • 邂逅相遇，適我願兮。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     邂逅相遇，适我愿兮。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: The Classic of Poetry, circa 11^th – 7^th centuries BCE, translated based on James Legge's version

     Xièhòu xiāngyù, shì wǒ yuàn xī. [Pinyin]

     We met together accidentally, and so my desire was satisfied.

   等車的他邂逅了一名女孩。 [MSC, trad.]
   等车的他邂逅了一名女孩。 [MSC, simp.]

   Děng chē de tā xièhòu le yī míng nǚhái. [Pinyin]

   He encountered a girl while waiting for a bus.

   如一場美麗的邂逅 [MSC, trad.]
   如一场美丽的邂逅 [MSC, simp.]

   rú yī chǎng měilì de xièhòu [Pinyin]

   as if a beautiful chance encounter

Adjective

邂逅

1. (literary) joyous and carefree
2. (literary) accidental; coincidental; adventitious

Pronunciation

• On’yomi
  • (Tokyo) かいこー [kàíkóó] (Heiban – [0])^[1]
  • IPA^(key): [ka̠iko̞ː]

Noun

邂逅 (hiragana かいこう, rōmaji kaikō)

1. chance encounter

Verb

邂逅する (intransitive, hiragana かいこうする, rōmaji kaikō suru)

1. meet by chance
   • 1905, Natsume Sōseki, 吾輩は猫である:

     その後 (ご)吾 (わ)輩 (が)は度々黒 (いはたびたびくろ)と邂逅 (かいこう)する。

     Sono go wagahai wa tabitabi kuro to kaikō suru.

     After that, I bumped into the black cat from time to time.

References