1.
to guide, to lead, to show the way
To guide someone physically or figuratively toward a destination, goal, or outcome. Often implies leading with authority or wisdom.
チームを勝利に導く。
To lead the team to victory.
先生が生徒を正しい方向に導いた。
The teacher guided the students in the right direction.
彼のリーダーシップがプロジェクトを成功に導いた。
His leadership guided the project to success.
2.
to derive, to arrive at (a conclusion or answer)
To reach a conclusion, answer, or result through reasoning, calculation, or investigation.
公式から答えを導く。
To derive the answer from a formula.
実験データから結論を導き出した。
We derived a conclusion from the experimental data.
論理的に考えて正しい答えを導き出してください。
Please think logically and derive the correct answer.
GRAMMAR:
In sense 2, 導く is often combined with 出す to form 導き出す (to derive, to work out), which is very common in academic and scientific contexts.
COLLOCATIONS:
- 勝利に導く — to lead to victory
- 成功に導く — to guide to success
- 結論を導き出す — to derive a conclusion
- 答えを導く — to arrive at an answer
SIMILAR WORDS:
案内する is to guide in the sense of showing around or giving directions. 率いる means to lead or command a group. 導く emphasizes guiding toward a positive outcome or correct answer.