53403
Can someone please tell me if 連れ添う which I have read that it also means "to
marry", "becoming man and wife", "to become a couple" has another kind of
nuance compared to the typical word 結婚 ? Because I haven't many resources to
get a better understanding, can I assume that 連れ添う can be used to describe a
couple, as in, they love each other and live together but not necessarily
being married (they didn't have an official wedding ceremony).  
There is this character, a woman, in a manga that said: 長く連れ添ったわ.  
She said this about the man she stayed with for many years until he passed
away. I also want to add that the woman is a vampire who lived for hundreds of
years and I do question if she actually married the man.  
That's why I believe that she said 連れ添う, to emphasize that she just stayed
faithfully by the man's side for a long time and she didn't have to become his
wife or anything. Please tell me your opinions!
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2017-09-21T11:48:01.713
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2017-09-21T12:24:13.837
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question
translation word-choice nuances
連れ添う　and 結婚-Is there a difference in nuance
The original meaning of 連れ添う is simply "to accompany". Sometimes it can refer
to something totally unrelated to marriage. For example, 連れ添って歩く usually just
means "to walk next to each other." 連れ添い is often interchangeable with mere
[付き添い](http://jisho.org/word/%E4%BB%98%E3%81%8D%E6%B7%BB%E3%81%84), depending
on the context. This means you can safely use 連れ添う with someone who are not
legally a husband and a wife.

When 連れ添う means something related to marriage (or de facto marriage), it's
closer to "to live together as a couple" rather than "to become a husband and
a wife". It describes a continuous action, but not a change of state. By
contrast, 結婚する is often described as an [instant state-change (aka punctual)
verb](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/3122/5010) like 知る.

>   * 彼は結婚している。 He is married.
>   * 彼は連れ添っている。 (weird)
>   * 彼は妻と長年結婚してきた。 (weird)
>   * 彼は妻と長年連れ添ってきた。 He has been with his wife for a long time.
>

Finally, 結婚する is a matter-of-factly, plain verb. 連れ添う is more literary or
romantic, and implies the spiritual bond between the two.
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2017-09-21T12:17:23.277
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2017-09-21T12:24:13.837
2017-09-21T12:24:13.837
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answer