“to” au vs. “ni” au:Do You Know What The Difference is?

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“to” au vs. “ni” au:Do You Know What The Difference is?

What is the difference between “___とう(to au) and ___に(ni au)”? Did you know what the difference is? After reading this, you would be answering this question. Let me introduce what their subtle differences are and how you correctly use them such as native speakers today!

___とう (to au)

See / 与你见面 / 과 만나다 / Hẹn gặp với

“とう(to au)” means “See” and which has been used as the meaning of “to meet or visit someone who you know by arrangement”. The basic way to use it “わたしは___とう”, etc. For instance, “わたし昨日きのう友達ともだちいました(I saw my friend yesterday.)”. The tips for using it is that when using “___とう”, you have “an APPOINTMENT” before seeing your friend or someone else. Basically, “と(一緒いっしょに)” means “together”, unlike “に”. Again, if you have an appointment with a person who you see tomorrow or next time, you would be able to use “___とう”.

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Sample

yuka

昨日きのうミクったよ。 (I saw Miku yesterday.) (我昨天遇见了美久。) (어제 미쿠와 만났어.) (Hôm qua tớ đã hẹn gặp Miku đấy!) (kinō Miku to atta yo.)

tatsuya

明日あした、レイ約束やくそくがあるよ。 (I have an appointment to see Rei tomorrow.) (明天我和玲衣有约。) (내일 레이와 만나기로 약속했어.) (Tớ có hẹn gặp Rei vào ngày mai đấy!) (ashita, rei to au yakusoku ga aru yo.)

yuka

土曜日どようび彼氏かれしんだー!たのしみ! (I’m going to see my boyfriend on Saturday! Can’t wait!) (周六能见到我的男朋友了!真期待!) (토요일에 남자친구 만나! 기대 돼!) (Thứ bảy này tớ có hẹn với bạn trai đấy! Háo hức quá!) (doyōbi ni kareshi to au nda-! tanoshimi!)

tatsuya

来月らいげつ東京とうきょう親戚しんせきよ。 (I’m going to see my relative in Tokyo next month.) (下个月,我将在东京与亲戚见面。) (다음 달, 도쿄에서 친척들과 만날거야.) (Tháng sau tớ có hẹn gặp với người họ hàng tại Tokyo đó!) (raigetsu, Tōkyō de shinseki to au yo.)

___にう (ni au)

Run into, Bump into, See, Meet / 见到你 / 을 만나다 / Gặp

“___にう(ni au)” means “Run into or See” and which has been used as the meaning of “to meet someone you know when you are not expecting to”. The basic way to use it “わたしは___にう”, etc. For instance, “わたし昨日きのう友達ともだちいました(I ran into my friend yesterday.)”. The tips for using it is that when using “___にう”, there are no appointments to see someone, so “___にう” is used as the meaning of “Run into or Bump into”. “___にう” is used as “to meet someone for the first time” if you have an appointment to meet him/her. Thus, even if you meet someone for the first time, you have an appointment, you might want to use “___とはじめてう” instead of “___にはじめてう”. Furthermore, since ” ___にう” is often used as the meaning of “Run into or Bump into”, native speakers quite often use “偶然ぐうぜん” or “ばったり” which means “by chance”, when using ” ___にう” such as “わたし昨日きのう友達ともだちにばったりいました(I saw/met my friend yesterday by chance.)”. “偶然ぐうぜん” is a little bit formal than “ばったり”, however, it is not that formal though.

Sample

yuka

昨日きのういもうと彼氏かれしはじめてったよ。 (I met my sister’s boyfriend yesterday.) (我昨天第一次见到我姐姐的男朋友。) (어제 여동생의 남자친구를 처음 만났어.) (Hôm qua tớ đã gặp bạn trai của em gái tớ lần đầu tiên đấy!) (kinō, imōto no kareshi ni hajimete atta yo.)

tatsuya

昨日きのう、ショッピングモールでゆかのおかあさんったよ。 (I saw your mom at the mall yesterday.) (我昨天在一家购物中心遇到了由香的妈妈。) (어제 쇼핑몰에서 유카 어머님을 만났어.) (Hôm qua tớ đã gặp mẹ của Yuka tại trung tâm mua sắm đấy!) (kinō, shoppingu mōru de Yuka no okāsan ni atta yo.)

yuka

今日きょうだれったおもう? (Guess who I bumped into today?) (你觉得今天会遇到谁?) (오늘 내가 누구랑 만났게?) (Đoán xem hôm nay tớ đã gặp ai nào?) (kyō, dare ni atta to omou?)

tatsuya

ジムでレイばったりったよ。 (I bumped into Rei at the gym.) (我刚刚在健身房遇到了玲衣。) (체육관에서 레이와 딱 만났어.) (Tớ đã tình cờ gặp Rei ở phòng tập thể dục thẩm mỹ đấy!) (jimu de rei ni battari atta yo.)

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Comments

List of comments (2)

  • I didn’t realize there was a difference! I’ve been using と this whole time! 勉強になりました。Thank you.

    • Hi, AG
      Thank you for your great comment! You’re welcome!
      Wow! You’ve improved your Japanese! Perfect!
      Let’s study Japanese with fun! 🙂

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