会います（あいます、aimasu）
- to meet

The Japanese verb 会います (あいます) means "to meet," "to see," or "to encounter." It implies a planned or accidental meeting with a person or people. It can also refer to seeing someone for the first time or meeting them again. 会います expresses the action of coming together with someone or something.

⚫︎ 友達に会います Translation: I will meet my friend. ⚫︎ 明日、田中さんに会いますか？ Translation: Will you meet Mr. Tanaka tomorrow? ⚫︎ 公園で新しい人に会いました。 Translation: I met a new person at the park.

⚫︎ Use 会います when you are referring to meeting someone, either by appointment or unexpectedly. ⚫︎ The particle that follows the person you are meeting is typically に (ni). ⚫︎ It is also used when you intend to see someone, such as at a scheduled event or during an arranged time. ⚫︎ 会います can be used in both formal and informal situations, though the politeness level might change based on the conjugation (e.g., 会います is polite, 会う is plain form).

⚫︎ This word is typically written as 会います in Japanese. ⚫︎ The kanji is 会 and the hiragana is います. ⚫︎ The okurigana (the hiragana that follows the kanji) is います. ⚫︎ The word is a verb, and it conjugates according to the tense and politeness level. ⚫︎ For instance, the plain form is 会う (au), the past tense polite form is 会いました (aimashita), and the negative polite form is 会いません (aimasen).

⚫︎ 出会う (deau): to encounter, to come across (often implies a chance encounter). ⚫︎ 面会する (menkai suru): to have an audience with, to meet (formal).

⚫︎ There isn't a direct antonym for "meet" in the same way. However, words expressing the act of parting or separation might be considered opposite in concept: ⚫︎ 別れる (wakareru): to separate, to part. ⚫︎ 去る (sareru): to leave, to depart.

今週、彼に会います。 ・Translation: I will meet him this week. ・Explanation: This sentence expresses a planned meeting with "him" during the current week.

初めて山田さんに会いました。 ・Translation: I met Mr. Yamada for the first time. ・Explanation: This sentence describes the speaker's first encounter with Mr. Yamada in the past.

The kanji 会 (kai) originally meant "to gather" or "to assemble." It evolved to encompass the meaning of "meeting" or "encountering" as it relates to people coming together. The ます (masu) ending is a polite verb ending in Japanese.