偶然（ぐうぜん、guuzen）
- coincidence

The Japanese word 偶然 (ぐうぜん, *guuzen*) means "by chance," "accidentally," "unexpectedly," or "coincidentally." It refers to something happening without a planned or intended cause. It emphasizes the lack of intention or predictability in an event. It can describe a situation, an encounter, or the occurrence of something.

⚫︎偶然会った。 Translation: I met them by chance. ⚫︎偶然にも、同じ電車だった。 Translation: By coincidence, it was the same train. ⚫︎彼女は偶然そのお店を見つけた。 Translation: She found that shop by chance.

⚫︎ Use 偶然 when you want to describe something happening without prior planning or expectation. ⚫︎ It's often used when talking about unexpected meetings, discoveries, or events. ⚫︎ It can be used in both formal and informal conversations. ⚫︎ Consider the context: the level of formality depends on the surrounding sentences and overall tone.

⚫︎ 偶然 is typically written with the kanji 偶然, but can also be written in hiragana ぐうぜん. ⚫︎ There are no variations in the okurigana (the suffix hiragana).

⚫︎ たまたま (*tamatama*): "by chance," "occasionally" ⚫︎ 思いがけず (*omoigakezu*): "unexpectedly" ⚫︎ 運良く (*un yoku*): "fortunately," "luckily" ⚫︎ まぐれ (*magure*): "by fluke" (implies a lucky break)

⚫︎ 必然 (*hitsuzen*): inevitability, necessity ⚫︎ 意図的 (*itoteki*): intentional ⚫︎ 計画的 (*keikakuteki*): planned

駅で《偶然昔のクラスメートに会いました。》 ・Translation: I met my old classmate by chance at the station. ・Explanation: This sentence describes an unexpected encounter. The meeting was not planned, but happened 偶然.

この本を《偶然図書館で見つけました。》 ・Translation: I found this book by chance at the library. ・Explanation: The speaker did not specifically go to the library looking for this book; they found it 偶然.

The word 偶然 is composed of two kanji: 偶 (*guu*) and 然 (*zen*). 偶 means "chance" or "accident," and 然 means "thus," "so," or "like this." Together, they combine to express the idea of something happening by chance or as a result of an unforeseen circumstance.