The Meaning of machiawase [待ち合わせ] In Japanese

待ち合わせ
まちあわせ
Romaji: machiawase N4

What does 待ち合わせ mean?

Translation and Meaning

waiting for a meeting, meeting arrangement, appointment, rendezvous

Definition

待ち合わせ means a planned meeting or rendezvous where people agree to gather at a specified time and place, typically in a public or designated location.

Type

Noun (名詞)

Stroke Order

Meanings

  • An arranged meeting in which participants commit to gather at a set time and location.
  • The act or moment of waiting at the designated spot for others to arrive, often expressed as 待ち合わせ場所 or 待ち合わせ時間.
  • Commonly used in casual settings to discuss plans with friends or colleagues and in signage or directions that indicate where to converge.

Etymology

待ち合わせ is a native compound formed from 待つ to wait and 合う to meet; 待ち is the continuative form of 待つ and 合わせ is the ren’yōkei form of 合う used in noun formation, yielding the concept of waiting to meet.

Composition

  • 待つ: to wait
  • 待ち: nominalized stem of 待つ
  • 合う: to meet
  • 合わせ: nominalized form of 合う used to form 待ち合わせ

Usage

Used across casual and semi-formal speech to discuss meeting plans. In everyday conversation it refers to the arrangement and the waiting period at the agreed point; in formal contexts it may be replaced by more explicit expressions like 約束 or 会う約束, with 待ち合わせ appearing mainly in informal or conversational planning.
💡 Tips
Mnemonic: imagine two people aligning watches before a planned meeting; the first part 待つ signals waiting, the second part 合う signals coming together to meet, so the whole word embodies waiting to meet.

Variations

  • 待ち合わせる (machiawaseru) — to arrange a meeting
  • 待ち合わせ場所 (machiawase basho) — meeting place
  • 約束する (yakusoku suru) — to make an appointment

Example Phrases

  • 今日は用事があって、駅前で友人と待ち合わせを諦めた。
    Kyou wa youji ga atte, ekimae de yuujin to machiawase o akirameta.
    I had something to do today, so I couldn’t meet a friend at the station.
    Lista:
    • 今日は (kyou wa) – today
    • 用事があって (youji ga atte) – having something to do
    • 駅前で (ekimae de) – at the station
    • 友人と (yuujin to) – with a friend
    • 待ち合わせを (machiawase o) – meeting
    • 諦めた (akirameta) – gave up
    Aqui, 「用事」 significa ‘assuntos/pendências’ e a expressão 「用事があって」 usa a forma て para indicar razão.
  • 私たちは待ち合わせの「タイミング」を慎重に決める。
    Watashitachi wa machiawase no 「taimingu」 o shinchō ni kimeru.
    We carefully decide the timing for our meeting.
    Lista:
    • 私たちは (watashitachi wa) – we
    • 待ち合わせの (machiawase no) – meeting arrangement’s
    • 「タイミング」 (taimingu) – timing
    • を (o) – object marker
    • 慎重に (shinchō ni) – carefully
    • 決める (kimeru) – decide
    タイミング is a noun meaning timing; here it is the object of 決める, shown as 「タイミング」.
  • 夕方、駅前のカフェで友達と待ち合わせした。
    Yūgata, ekimae no kafe de machiawase shita.
    I met up with a friend at a cafe in front of the station in the evening.
    Lista:
    • 夕方 (yūgata) – evening
    • 駅前 (ekimae) – in front of the station
    • の (no) – of
    • カフェ (kafe) – cafe
    • で (de) – at
    • 友達 (tomodachi) – friend
    • と (to) – with
    • 待ち合わせ (machiawase) – meeting
    • した (shita) – did
    Time reference: the sentence uses the time noun 「夕方」 to indicate when the action occurred; it functions as a time adverbial at the start, commonly followed by a comma. The phrase 「駅前のカフェで」 marks the location of the meeting.
  • 町で名高いカフェで友人と待ち合わせした。
    machi de meidakai kafe de yūjin to machiawase shita.
    I met up with a friend at a famous cafe in town.
    Lista:
    • 町 (machi) – town
    • で (de) – at, in
    • 名高い (meidakai) – famous
    • カフェ (kafe) – cafe
    • で (de) – at, in
    • 友人 (yūjin) – friend
    • と (to) – with
    • 待ち合わせ (machiawase) – meeting
    • した (shita) – did
    The word 「名高い」 is a prenominal adjective meaning ‘famous’ or ‘renowned’; it directly modifies the noun that follows, here 「カフェ」.
  • 友達と 駅前で 待ち合わせして カフェで お茶した
    Tomodachi to ekimae de machiawase shite kafe de ocha shita.
    A friend and I met at the station square and had tea at a cafe.
    Lista:
    • 友達と (tomodachi to) – with a friend
    • 駅前で (ekimae de) – in front of the station
    • 待ち合わせして (machiawase shite) – meeting up
    • カフェで (kafe de) – at a cafe
    • お茶した (ocha shita) – had tea
    「待ち合わせ」(machiawase) is a noun meaning a prearranged meeting; 待ち合わせして expresses ‘meeting up’ in this context.
待ち合わせ