What does 添う mean?
添う is a Japanese verb meaning “to accompany, to comply with” in English. It can also be translated as “to accompany, to associate with (someone), to marry” depending on context. It is written as 添う in kanji, そう in hiragana, and sou in romaji. This word is part of JLPT N3 vocabulary.
Conjugation of 添う
| Affirmative | Negative | |
|---|---|---|
| Plain | 添うそう | 添わないそわない |
| Plain past | 添ったそった | 添わなかったそわなかった |
| Polite | 添いますそいます | 添いませんそいません |
| Polite past | 添いましたそいました | 添いませんでしたそいませんでした |
Other forms
Te-form添ってそって
Potential添えるそえる
Passive添われるそわれる
Volitional添おうそおう
Causative添わせるそわせる
Conditional添えばそえば
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Transitive partner
添う (it happens by itself)·添える (someone does it)
添う describes something happening by itself. 添える describes someone doing it to something. Japanese keeps these apart where English often uses one verb for both.