そびれる

miss the chance to, fail to, never get round to

AI-generated

Structure

[verb ます-stem] + そびれる

Description

そびれる after a ます-stem means you meant to do something and missed the moment: "missed the chance to", "never got round to". It is an ordinary る-verb, and it mostly appears in the past, often with てしまった.

、。

I meant to tell you – next week's meeting has been cancelled.

。

I was so busy I missed lunch.

、きごう？

I didn't get a chance to ask – what time does the meeting start?

The verbs you meet it with most are ゆう言う, きく聞く, たべる食べる, みる見る and ねる寝る. ね寝そびれる is not getting to sleep because the moment passed.

、。

I drank too much coffee and couldn't get to sleep.

そびれる or なかった

A plain negative says only that it didn't happen, perhaps by choice. そびれる says you intended to and the chance slipped away.

。

I didn't call him.

。

I meant to call him but never did.

そびれる or 損ねる

and after a ます-stem also mean "fail to", and cover failed attempts as well as missed chances: is trying to catch the train and missing it. そびれる is only about letting the moment pass.

。

I missed the last train.

。

I never got the chance to say thank you.

Examples

。

I missed my chance to say something important.

。

I was so busy that I missed eating lunch.

、。

I missed my chance to buy the limited edition item and really regret it.

、きごう？

I forgot to ask, but what time does the meeting start?

。

I missed the chance to express my gratitude to her.

、。

I missed my chance to get off the train and ended up at the next station.

、。

I never got around to watching that movie and it's no longer showing.

、。

I failed to get in touch during the business trip and he got mad at me.

、。

The timing was bad and I missed my chance to report to my boss.

、。

Even though I went all the way to Kyoto, I missed the chance to visit Kinkaku-ji.

。

I failed to greet the neighbors before moving away.

、。

I missed the transfer timing and failed to catch the last train.