遭 means “meet with (trouble)”

あう · au

Also: encounter, meet, party, association

Kun'yomi (Japanese reading)

あう, あわせる

On'yomi (Chinese reading)

ソウ

JLPT N1 · Taught in secondary school · 14 strokes

The story

Walking (辶) straight into 曹, an officer, as in 軍曹, sergeant: picture an unlucky run-in on the road. 遭う is meeting with trouble, as in 事故に遭う, 遭難 is being lost at sea or in the mountains, and 遭遇 is an encounter, like a bear on a trail.

Used in 遭う (au, to meet with), 遭難 (sounan, being lost/in distress), and 遭遇 (souguu, encounter)

More from Fire & Flood

• 洪 flood
• 薪 firewood
• 氾 overflow
• 濫 overflow
• 災 disaster
• 炎 flame
• 噴 erupt
• 炉 hearth
• 惨 miserable
• 墜 crash

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Readings from KANJIDIC2, © EDRDG, CC BY-SA.