Hey there fellow netizens!

So we have talked before about Japanese compound words, but today I want us to take a good look at the word '出る/でる/coming out,' which actually has nothing to do with 'the closet,' if you get my drift.

But I don't want to let you completely down in case you were expecting something of the sort so here's a nice video of a Japanese fella's coming out story. Long live the freedom of being yourself.

Now let's get to business...

Wanna know what's up with 出る? Well... everything!

You are about to be introduced to a gazillion ways of 'hooking up' this word with others. Actually, we could make a little comparison here about how 出る is the homosexually inclined word of the Japanese language--he only hooks up with other verbs, and is 'just friends' with the nouns around it (for the most part). Now that's a fresh and spicy way to think about grammar!

So, let's get our engines going:

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1. 出かける/でかける/to go out
The more specific meaning is 'to go out with the implicit intention of returning later'

Note: If you remembered our recent lesson about 掛ける/かける you might be a little confused right now. So let me explain the difference:

食べかけのリンゴ
たべかけ　の　りんご
A partially eaten apple.
Literally: 'Eat (masu-stem) + かけ + の + apple.'

Here the word is reduced to it's shorter version 'かけ' and not' かける' and it is always followed by the particle 'の'.

町に出かける。
まち　に　でかける。
To go out in town.
Literally: 'Town + に + go out'

Here you always have かける in it's complete form, even if it's conjugated.

Another very famous combo word is...

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2. 出会う/であう/to meet (by chance)

偶然友達に出会った。
ぐうぜん　ともだち　に　であった。
I ran into a friend.
Literally: 'randomly / by coincidence + friend + に + met (by chance)'

This is also often used as a noun:

出会い/であい/meeting (by chance)

出会う and 出会い are also used when meeting someone for the first time. In particular, it is used for meeting someone that you may potentially have an intimate relationship with. That's why it's common to hear...

運命の出会い
うんめい　の　であい。
A destined meeting.
Literally: 'fate / destiny + の + meeting'

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The following combinations are actually a lot more 'orthodox' than the previous ones because the words put together make more sense.

Aside from 出る/でる, there is another word: 出す/だす, which is the transitive version of the former.

So what I mean is:
出る/でる/to come out - intransitive
出す/だす/ to take out - transitive

出す, smoothly added after other verbs, takes up the meaning of 'to start to'.

The only rule is that you have to use the '-masu stem' of the verb in front. That is...

食べます/たべます/eat　→　たべ　+　ます (たべ is the stem)
歩きます/あるきます/walk　→　あるき　+　ます (あるき is the stem)

Congratulations, just by finding out about this you have majorly increased your verb vocabulary. Let me show you what I mean by this:

歩きます/あるきます/ walk
歩き出す/あるきだす/to start walking
Literally: 'walk + start to'.

走ります/はしります/ run
走り出す/はしりだす/ to start running
Literally: 'run + start to'.

動きます/うごきます/ move
動き出す/うごきだす/ to start moving
Literally: 'move + start to'.

逃げます/にげます/ run (away from something)
逃げ出す/にげだす/ to start running (away from something); to escape
Literally: 'run (away) + start to'.

Now this cannot be used with any verb. This has to do with the original meaning of the word/kanji 出す itself. So you use it actions that portray something 'coming out' or 'springing forward'. I'd love to have you standing in front of me right now; my Italian ancestry is dying to articulate this with hand movements. When calling someone you can imagine your voice 'coming out', andvwhen running you can imagine your body 'springing forward.'

Let's also look at an example:

彼女はゴールに向かって走り出した。
かのじょ　は　ごーる　に　むかって　はしりだした。
She started running towards the goal.
Literally: 'She + は + goal + に + facing (towards) + started running'.

We shall continue our journey next lesson, as there is so much to cover about these magnificent combo words! Also, check out Cassy's recent lesson about 出す too for a bit of review. See you next time!

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This lesson was written by Adriana, a guest contributor.