1.
to accompany, to stay close to, to attend
To stay close beside someone in a supportive or caring role. Often implies watching over, assisting, or keeping someone company, especially during illness or difficulty.
病人に添う。
To stay by a sick person's side.
母は入院中の父にずっと添っていた。
My mother stayed at the side of my hospitalized father the whole time.
付き添いの人がいないと不安だ。
I feel uneasy without someone to accompany me.
2.
to marry, to be wed
To become husband and wife, to live together as a married couple. A somewhat literary or traditional way to express marriage, often seen in the pattern 連れ添う (to live together as spouses).
二人は若くして添った。
The two married young.
長年連れ添った夫婦だ。
They are a couple who have been together for many years.
好きな人と添い遂げたいと願っている。
I wish to spend my whole life with the person I love.
USAGE:
Not to be confused with the homophone 沿う (to run along, to follow a path/policy). 添う emphasizes personal closeness and caring support, while 沿う means to follow alongside something like a road or guideline.
The marriage sense is somewhat literary and traditional. In modern Japanese, 結婚する is more common for "to marry," but 添う and its compounds remain widely understood.
COMMON COMPOUNDS:
- 付き添う: to accompany, to attend (someone)
- 付き添い: attendant, escort, chaperone
- 連れ添う: to live together as a married couple
- 添い遂げる: to remain married until the end, to grow old together
- 寄り添う: to snuggle up to, to stay close (emotionally or physically)