馬が合う

Word by word

horse · NOM · matches

Idiomatic sense

To hit it off with someone. The two of you suit each other, the way a rider and a horse suit each other, and the ease is felt early. It is about temperament, not about agreeing on a fact.

The negative is as common as the positive. Two competent people can still 馬が合わない.

Examples

1. 初対面なのに、不思議と馬が合った。

   We had only just met, and somehow we clicked.

2. 仕事はできる人だけれど、私とは馬が合わない。

   They're good at the work. The two of us still don't gel.

Equivalents

Marks say how far the other phrase travels with this one. How to read them.

1. near

   English

   to hit it off

   Same early, unexplained ease. English has no horse in it.

2. near

   English

   to get on with someone

   Broader. It covers a working peace as well as a spark. 馬が合う leans toward the spark.

3. near

   German

   auf einer Wellenlänge liegen

   To be on the same wavelength. Same discovery that two people fit.

4. near

   French

   avoir des atomes crochus

   To have hooked atoms, that is, a natural affinity. Same job, a learned picture.

5. near

   Chinese

   投缘

   To take to each other. Ordinary in speech, and lighter than a classical four-character phrase.

Notes

The figure is a rider and a horse that suit. In ordinary modern use the phrase is about two people. This entry does not treat a literal good match with a horse as a living second sense.

Katakana ウマが合う is a common casual spelling, and it means the same thing.

Sources

• Headword confirmed in JMdict (EDRDG, CC BY-SA 4.0), also written ウマが合う. Wording here is original.