お見合い

• 読み: おみあい
• ローマ字: omiai
• 漢字の分解: お (honorific) + 見 (see) + 合い (mutual) → mutually seeing each other
• 発音: /o.mi.a.i/

意味

A formal arranged meeting between potential marriage partners, traditionally set up by a go-between, now also the name of a popular dating app.

Once the primary way marriages were arranged in Japan, お見合い has evolved from a formal ritual involving families and matchmakers into a broader concept. Modern お見合い can range from traditional family-arranged meetings to casual matchmaking parties (お見合いパーティー) and even dating apps that bear its name. The term bridges old and new Japan, carrying both traditional gravitas and modern romantic pragmatism.

例文

1. 親がお見合い相手見つけてきたけど、正直会いたくない。
2. 最近のお見合いってマッチングアプリみたいなもんでしょ。
3. お見合いパーティーで意外といい人に会えた。

使い方ガイド

場面: dating, family conversations, social media

トーン: traditional, pragmatic

正しい言い方

• 親にお見合い勧められたけど悩んでる (My parents suggested omiai but I'm on the fence)
• お見合いも悪くないって最近思うようになった (I've started thinking omiai isn't so bad lately)

避ける言い方

• 恋愛結婚した人に「お見合いのほうがいいのに」は余計なお世話 (Telling someone who married for love 'omiai would have been better' is nosy and unwelcome)

よくある間違い

• Assuming お見合い is outdated — it remains a viable and respected path to marriage in Japan
• Confusing お見合い with blind dates — traditional omiai involves family background checks and formal introductions

起源と歴史

An ancient Japanese marriage custom where families arranged formal meetings between potential partners, typically through a 仲人 (nakōdo, matchmaker). The practice declined in the post-war era but has been reborn in modern forms like matchmaking apps and parties.

文化的背景

時代: Historical practice, modernised with apps and parties in 2010s

世代: All ages

社会的背景: Universal, especially popular in marriage-minded demographics

地域メモ: Used across all of Japan. The dating app 'Omiai' launched in 2012 brought the term to younger audiences.