Meaning
遇见 means to meet someone or encounter something, often by chance or unexpectedly. It emphasizes the moment of coming across someone or something, and is commonly used when describing unplanned meetings or discovering people and situations in life.
Usage
遇见 is frequently used in both spoken and written Chinese to describe chance encounters with people, but can also refer to encountering situations or things. It's slightly more literary than 碰到 or 碰见, and is popular in songs, poetry, and romantic contexts. Often appears in phrases like 遇见你 (to meet you).
Examples
- 01我昨天在书店遇见了老朋友。.I ran into an old friend at the bookstore yesterday.
- 02能遇见你真是太好了。.It's so wonderful to have met you.
Characters
Common collocations
- 遇见你to meet you
- 偶然遇见to meet by chance
- 很高兴遇见你pleased to meet you
- 有幸遇见fortunate to meet
Antonyms
Origin
Both characters independently relate to meeting: 遇 originally meant 'to encounter on the road' (辶 radical suggests movement), while 见 means 'to see.' Together they reinforce the meaning of meeting through sight and encounter.