Verb[stem] + 合う

Grammar Points
#1

to/for one another, mutually, with

** verb[stem] + 合う**
*

View on Bunpro

This entry as the message “Often used with （お）互いに” but I didn’t see any examples (though there is one on Maggie Sensei’s site)

This seems a bit redundant, can you explain a bit more when this is used? Thx!

#2

I just want to point out that Japanese is often very redundant compared to English.

The 5th example does use it by the way.

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#3

I see it now, thanks!

And yet there are times when Japanese is elegantly concise. Not necessary colloquial (which has conveniences too) but I recall reading a BP entry and remarking how excessively wordy the English was comparatively (by necessity to convey the speaker’s intent, not by bad translation).

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#4

@s1212z @seanblue

Hey and sorry for the slow answer!

I would say there are three reasons:

  • ◯合うgenerally is on the end of the clause, so if you want to convey “doing something together” in the beginning, as fast as possible you can use 互いに、the another person will know from the beginning what you are talking about
  • similar to もし and たら, which does not only have conditional meaning but also means “then”, etc. Basically to point that speakers want to express “with each other” meaning. For example, 持ち合う can mean “to balance” or “to share (expenses with one another)”. If used with 互いに we know that speaker/writer means “to share”
  • for emphasis
  • no real reason, just wanting to use more words

Cheers,

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#5

Ok, all those points make sense. Thank you for all the grammar feedback!

:smile:

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