出迎える
でむかえる · demukaeru · JLPT N2 · verb-ichidan
to greet
🚪 出 (go out) + 迎える (welcome): go outside to welcome someone who arrives
迎える means to welcome or receive. Adding 出 (de, go out) gives going out to the entrance to meet someone who is arriving. Use it for greeting guests or visitors at the door.
出 — foot 止 emerging from enclosure 凵
出 is a pictograph showing a foot or plant stepping out of a hollow or enclosure, depicting the act of going forth. The original sense of 'coming out' or 'emerging' has remained stable since oracle bone script. It now broadly means 'to exit, go out, or produce.'
迎 — walk radical 辶 + 卬 (phonetic)
迎 is a phono-semantic compound: 辶 (walk/movement) gives the meaning of going toward someone, while 卬 supplies the sound (close to yíng). 卬 originally depicted a person looking up, reinforcing the idea of facing or greeting. Together the character means 'to welcome' or 'meet'.