Meaning

Primary

To Invite

Alternatives

To Tempt, To Entice

Word Type

transitive verb, godan verb

Explanation

Because the hiragana ends with an sound, you know this word is a verb. The kanji itself means invite. The verb vocab version is to invite.

誘う refers to casually inviting someone to a place, an event, or an activity. If it's an invitation to something tempting, it can also mean to tempt, or to entice.

Reading

さそう
  • Kyoko
    (Tokyo accent, female)
  • Kenichi
    (Tokyo accent, male)

Explanation

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 saw so (さそ) much in this person that you decided to invite them to dinner.

Context

Context Sentences

私、友達を誘うのが苦手なんです。

I find it difficult to ask friends to hang out.

陽気に誘われ、ウォーキングに出かけた。

I was enticed by the pleasant weather and went for a walk.

どうする?サオリもカラオケに誘う?

What should we do? Should we also invite Saori to karaoke?

上司にラーメンを食べに行かないかと誘われたら、行くしかないっしょ。

If my boss asks me to go eat ramen, I have no choice but to go, right?

ついにサヤコをデートに誘ったんだけど、なんとOKの返事をもらえたんだよ。だから、今夜、食事をしに出かけるんだ。

I finally asked Sayako out on a date and she said yes, so we’re going out for dinner tonight.

Kanji Composition