沿う

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Japanese

Kanji in this term
沿
そ
Grade: 6
kun'yomi

Etymology

From Old Japanese. Used in the Man'yōshū, completed some time after 759 CE.[1]

Pronunciation

  • Tokyo pitch accent of conjugated forms of 「沿う」
Source: Online Japanese Accent Dictionary
Stem forms
Terminal (終止形)
Attributive (連体形) 		沿う そう
そう
Imperative (命令形) 沿え そえ
そえ
Key constructions
Passive 沿われる そわれる
そわれる
Causative 沿わせる そわせる
そわせる
Potential 沿える そえる
そえる
Volitional 沿おう そおー
Negative 沿わない そわない
そわない
Negative perfective 沿わなかった そわなかった
そわなかった
Formal 沿います そいます
Perfective 沿った そった
そった
Conjunctive 沿って そって
そって
Hypothetical conditional 沿えば そえば
そえば

Verb

沿(そ)う • (sou) intransitive godan (stem 沿(そ)い (soi), past 沿(そ)った (sotta))

  1. to run along (a river, railway, road, etc.), to line (the shore etc.)
  2. to follow (rules, guidelines, etc.)

Usage notes

Often used in a kind of adverbial phrase construction, ...に沿って... (... ni sotte ...), with a general meaning of along, in keeping with, along the lines of, in parallel with.

  • 自(じ)分(ぶん)の期(き)待(たい)に沿(そ)って生(せい)活(かつ)する
    jibun no kitai ni sotte seikatsu suru
    to live in keeping with one's own expectations

Conjugation

Conjugation of "沿う" (See Appendix:Japanese verbs.)
Katsuyōkei ("stem forms")
Mizenkei ("imperfective") 沿わ そわ sowa
Ren’yōkei ("continuative") 沿い そい soi
Shūshikei ("terminal") 沿う そう sou
Rentaikei ("attributive") 沿う そう sou
Kateikei ("hypothetical") 沿え そえ soe
Meireikei ("imperative") 沿え そえ soe
Key constructions
Passive 沿われる そわれる sowareru
Causative 沿わせる
沿わす 		そわせる
そわす 		sowaseru
sowasu
Potential 沿える そえる soeru
Volitional 沿おう そおう soō
Negative 沿わない そわない sowanai
Negative continuative 沿わず そわず sowazu
Formal 沿います そいます soimasu
Perfective 沿った そった sotta
Conjunctive 沿って そって sotte
Hypothetical conditional 沿えば そえば soeba

References

  1. ^
    c. 759, Man’yōshū, book 14, poem 3485:
    , text here
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
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