競り合う・競合う|せりあうseriau[3]nakadaka (mid-high)
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Which spelling to use
競り合う競り合う is the more common written form and the recommended choice for beginners; use it when writing this verb.
競合う競合う is a less common written variant of 競り合う. You may encounter it in writing, but beginners should generally choose 競り合う instead.
Definitions
- godan verb, intransitive verbto struggle for; to compete with; to vie with
Conjugation
| Dictionary form | 競り合う（せりあう） |
|---|---|
| Polite (masu) | 競り合います（せりあいます） |
| Negative (nai) | 競り合わない（せりあわない） |
| polite (masen) | 競り合いません（せりあいません） |
| classical zu / nu | 競り合わず・競り合わぬ（せりあわず・せりあわぬ） |
| Past (ta) | 競り合った（せりあった） |
| polite (mashita) | 競り合いました（せりあいました） |
| Past negative (nakatta) | 競り合わなかった（せりあわなかった） |
| polite (masen deshita) | 競り合いませんでした（せりあいませんでした） |
| Te form | 競り合って（せりあって） |
| Potential | 競り合える（せりあえる） |
| Passive | 競り合われる（せりあわれる） |
| Causative | 競り合わせる（せりあわせる） |
| Causative passive | 競り合わせられる・競り合わされる（せりあわせられる・せりあわされる） |
| Conditional (ba) | 競り合えば（せりあえば） |
| tara | 競り合ったら（せりあったら） |
| Volitional | 競り合おう（せりあおう） |
| polite (mashou) | 競り合いましょう（せりあいましょう） |
| Imperative | 競り合え（せりあえ） |
Common forms generated by rule; see the senses for honorific or irregular usage.
Synonyms & antonyms
- Synonym競い合うきそいあうNeutralMutual competition where neither side will give in, as in 「技を競い合う」; unlike 「競り合う」, it does not stress a neck-and-neck struggle.
- Synonym争うあらそうNeutralThe broadest of these verbs: vying for something like 「首位を争う」, but also quarrelling; 「競り合う」 suggests a tighter, more evenly matched contest.
- Synonym競合きょうごうWrittenWritten word for competing with each other, as in 「競合他社」; also a legal term. 「競り合う」 pictures a close, hard-fought contest between near-equals.
- Synonym張り合うはりあうCasualColloquial: battling out of sheer refusal to lose, as in 「意地を張り合う」; 「競り合う」 stresses the close, even contest itself.
- Synonym競うきそうNeutralGeneral verb for competing, as in 「速さを競う」; 「競り合う」 adds the image of the two sides staying neck and neck.
- Synonym競るせるCasualColloquial: to compete or to bid at an auction, as in 「せりで競る」; 「競り合う」 is about two sides competing with each other.
- Related競争きょうそうNeutralNoun for competition in general, as in 「生存競争」; 「競り合う」 evokes a fierce struggle between evenly matched sides.
- Related対抗たいこうWrittenWritten word for pitting oneself against a rival, as in 「対抗戦」; 「競り合う」 focuses on the close, back-and-forth course of the contest.
- Related立ち合うたちあうNeutralFacing off in sumo or the like, or being present as a witness; 「競り合う」 instead stresses a close race where neither side pulls clear.
- Related挑むいどむNeutralTaking the initiative to challenge, as in 「強敵に挑む」; 「競り合う」 pictures the two sides trading the lead, neck and neck.
- Antonym協調するWrittenWritten word for cooperating in harmony; the opposite of 「競り合う」 on the competition-versus-cooperation axis.
- Antonym妥協するNeutralTo compromise and give way; opposed to 「競り合う」 on the axis of refusing to yield versus backing down.
Use 「競り合う」 for a tight, neck-and-neck struggle between evenly matched sides, as in 「ゴール前で競り合う」. For mutual competition pick 「競い合う」, for vying or quarrelling 「争う」, for stubborn rivalry 「張り合う」. The opposites are 「協調する」 and 「妥協する」.
Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only
Japanese definitions
Kanji in this word
