(おとず)

おとずれ
noun
visit; arrival; advent
1. visit; call
The act of visiting a person or place.
突然(とつぜん)(おとず)れに(おどろ)いた。
I was surprised by the sudden visit.
友人(ゆうじん)(おとず)れを心待(こころま)ちにしている。
I am eagerly awaiting my friend's visit.
遠方(えんぽう)からの(おとず)れに感謝(かんしゃ)して、(こころ)()めてもてなした。
Grateful for the visit from afar, I entertained them wholeheartedly.
2. arrival; advent; coming
The arrival or onset of a season, event, or abstract concept such as peace or change.
(はる)(おとず)れを(かん)じる。
To feel the arrival of spring.
平和(へいわ)(おとず)れを(ねが)う。
To wish for the coming of peace.
(なが)(ふゆ)がようやく()わり、()ちに()った(はる)(おとず)れに街全体(まちぜんたい)活気(かっき)づいた。
The long winter finally ended, and the long-awaited arrival of spring brought the whole town to life.

(おとず)れ is the noun form of the verb (おとず)れる (to visit). It has a literary and elegant quality.

COMMON COLLOCATIONS:

  • (はる)(おとず)れ (the arrival of spring)
  • 平和(へいわ)(おとず)れ (the coming of peace)
  • ()(おとず)れ (the approach of death)
  • 突然(とつぜん)(おとず)れ (a sudden visit)

The figurative sense (sense 2) is especially common in literary and poetic writing, where seasons, peace, or other abstract concepts are described as "visiting" or "arriving."