遇到
to encounter; to come across; to run into
yùdào
What does 遇到 mean?
遇到 (yùdào) is the Chinese verb for 'to encounter / run into / come across' — used for both meeting a person by chance and running into a situation. Structurally a resultative compound: 遇 ('meet') + 到 ('arrive at / reach'), where 到 emphasizes the successful encounter. Two contexts dominate: (1) bumping into a person — 我在路上遇到了老朋友 ('I ran into an old friend on the road'); (2) encountering a problem or event — 遇到困难 ('run into difficulty'), 遇到问题 ('encounter a problem'). Note the difference from 见面 (jiànmiàn, 'to meet up'), which implies a planned meeting: 我们明天见面 ('we'll meet tomorrow').
遇到 always carries some element of chance or unexpectedness. In negative form,
Character breakdown
to meet (by chance); to encounter
to arrive; to reach (result marker)
Memory hook: 'Meet + reach' — your paths reach each other by accident.
Example sentences
我今天在路上遇到了老师。
Wǒ jīntiān zài lùshang yùdào le lǎoshī.
I ran into my teacher on the road today.
spoken
学中文的时候，你遇到什么问题？
Xué Zhōngwén de shíhou, nǐ yùdào shénme wèntí?
What problems do you run into when learning Chinese?
neutral
他在工作上遇到了很多困难。
Tā zài gōngzuò shang yùdào le hěn duō kùnnan.
He ran into a lot of difficulties at work.
neutral
没想到在这里遇到你！
Méi xiǎngdào zài zhèlǐ yùdào nǐ!
I didn't expect to run into you here!
spoken
如果遇到麻烦，给我打电话。
Rúguǒ yùdào máfan, gěi wǒ dǎ diànhuà.
If you run into trouble, call me.
spoken
Common phrases with 遇到
Synonyms
碰到 is more colloquial and slightly more accidental in feeling — like 'bump into.' 在超市碰到他 ('bumped into him at the supermarket'). 遇到 is the standard neutral version; 碰到 sounds more casual and surprised.
见到 means 'to see / meet (successfully).' Can be planned or unplanned. 见到你真高兴 ('great to see you'). 遇到 specifically marks chance encounter; 见到 just confirms the meeting happened.
Don't confuse 遇到 with
见面 is a planned 'meet up.' 我们明天见面 ('we'll meet tomorrow'). 遇到 is chance encounter. Don't say 我们明天遇到 — that would mean 'we'll randomly bump into each other tomorrow.'