Skip to content
道Nihongo Path

不図

ふと

suddenly; casually; accidentally; incidentally; unexpectedly; unintentionally

By Nihongo PathUpdated

Examples

  1. 不図空を見上げた。

    ふとそらをみあげた。

    I happened to glance up at the sky.

  2. 彼はそれを見ると不図魔がさして盗んだ。

    かれはそれをみるとふとまがさしてぬすんだ。

    The sight tempted him into stealing it on impulse.

  3. 不図昔のことを思い出して、涙が出そうになった。

    ふとむかしのことをおもいだして、なみだがでそうになった。

    Something from long ago suddenly came back to me and I nearly cried.

Common patterns

ふと思う
to think of something out of the blue
ふと気づく
to happen to notice
ふと立ち止まる
to stop for no particular reason

Memory tip

An adverb for something that crosses your mind or eye with no intention behind it, so it pairs with verbs of noticing, remembering and glancing. The kanji 不図 is ateji and is hardly ever written.

Kanji in this word

Quick check

1 / 2Multiple choiceDifficulty 4 of 5

What does 不図 mean?