Japanese word of the day: 迎える (Mukaeru)

What does 迎える (Mukaeru) mean?

迎える (ichidan, transitive verb) — A versatile verb that can mean “to pick someone up”, “to receive”, “to call”, “to approach”.

Kanji details for 迎

Character: 迎 — welcome, meet, greet
Radical: walk 辵 (辶, ⻌, ⻍)

Example sentences with 迎える (Mukaeru)

• すぐ迎えにきてよ。家まで帰れそうもない。

  (Sugu mukae ni kite yo. Ie made kaeresou mo nai.)

  Come pick me up. I'm not gonna be able to make it home.

• だれが来ようとも、私は暖かくその人を迎えます。

  (Dare ga koyou tomo, watashi wa atatakaku sono hito o mukaemasu.)

  Whoever comes, I'll welcome him warmly.

• ６時にホテルに車で迎えて下さい。

  (Roku-ji ni hoteru ni kuruma de mukaete kudasai.)

  Please pick me up at the hotel at six o'clock.

Confused about how to conjugate 迎える? Our conjugation tables can help.

迎える (Mukaeru) in context

迎える (mukaeru) is a versatile Japanese verb that can be used in both formal and casual contexts. It's also frequently used to express reaching or approaching time periods, such as 新年を迎える (shinnen o mukaeru, welcoming the new year). The level of formality depends on how you conjugate it—basic forms are neutral, while honorific forms like お迎えする(omukaesuru) are more formal. There are no situations where using 迎える would be inappropriate; it's simply a matter of adjusting the conjugation to match the required level of formality.