To Come
To Go, To Visit, To Be Defeated, To Be At A Loss
intransitive verb, godan verb
The kanji itself means participate, so you'd think this word would mean "to participate" but it's a little more complex than that. Think of it as "to participate" but where you have to come or to go in order to do it. This is the humble way to say those things, so you're going to these places with your tail between your legs, just happy you can participate more than anything. By extension, this is also a humble way to say to visit, often used if you're visiting something sacred like a shrine or a tomb.
Historically, this word arose as a humble way to indicate visiting a person of higher social status. In a weird twist, this word has come to also mean to be defeated or to be at a loss. Think of it as what can happen when you're trying to participate while in an inferior position to someone or something.
Since this word consists of a kanji with hiragana attached, you can bet that it will use the kun'yomi reading. You didn't learn that reading with this kanji, so here's a mnemonic to help you: You get to come to participate! "It's my (まい) lucky day!" you exclaim.
代わりに参る
to go instead of someone
神社に参る
to visit a temple
いっしょに参る
to go together
感情的に参る
to be emotionally exhausted
いざ、参らん！
Let's go!
今週末は、母のおはかに参るつもりです。
This weekend I'm planning to visit my mom's grave.
私は毎日神社に参ります。
I visit a Shinto shrine every day.