uma ga au lit. ‘the horses match’
Japanese idiom, everyday. Two people who are very close friends.
Draft Not yet checked by a native Japanese speaker.
How do people use 馬が合う
?
Everyday and warm, used for two people who just click, often without anyone knowing why: “あいつとは馬が合う” (I really get on with that guy). It often comes in the negative too, for someone you never warmed to: “彼女とは馬が合わなかった”. It’s about easy chemistry, so you can say it of a new colleague as well as an old friend.
Also said ウマが合う
馬が合う
in real sentences
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彼女とは馬が合わなかったんだよ。
Kanojo to wa uma ga awanakatta n da yo.
I didn’t get along with her.
Tatoeba, sentence by bunbuku, translation by CK, CC BY 2.0 FR
Where does 馬が合う
come from?
The Daijisen (via Kotobank) defines it as getting along well and hitting it off, with no origin note, and English Wiktionary breaks it down as “the horse(s) match”. A common explanation is that a rider and horse who suit each other move as one, but no dictionary confirms it, so treat it as a theory.
Mistakes learners make with 馬が合う
Writing it with 合う’s other kanji 会う (to meet). 馬が会う would mean the horses run into each other; the idiom is about fitting together.
Other Japanese idioms like 馬が合う
Spot a mistake in 馬が合う
?
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