追(お)っ手(て)

おって
noun
pursuer; chaser
person
1. pursuer; chaser; search party
A person or group chasing after someone who is fleeing. Often used in historical, literary, or dramatic contexts involving fugitives or escapes.
追(お)っ手(て)が迫(せま)ってきた。
The pursuers were closing in.
追(お)っ手(て)をまいて山(やま)に逃(に)げ込(こ)んだ。
He shook off the pursuers and fled into the mountains.
藩(はん)は脱走(だっそう)した侍(さむらい)を捕(と)らえるために、すぐに追(お)っ手(て)を差(さ)し向(む)けた。
The domain immediately dispatched pursuers to capture the escaped samurai.

Refers to those who chase a fugitive or escapee. Common in historical fiction, period dramas, and action narratives.

Common collocations

  • 追(お)っ手(て)をかける (to send pursuers after)
  • 追(お)っ手(て)を差(さ)し向(む)ける (to dispatch pursuers)
  • 追(お)っ手(て)をまく (to shake off pursuers)
  • 追(お)っ手(て)から逃(に)げる (to flee from pursuers)

The word has a dramatic, literary quality and appears frequently in 時代劇(じだいげき) (period dramas) and historical novels.

Related Words

Related: 追(お)う (to chase)
Related: 追跡(ついせき) (pursuit, tracking)
general
Added 2026.3.1 21:07 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:01
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