迎える, 出迎える, and 見送る: arrivals, departures, and deferral
Compare welcoming guests, picking up a mother, and greeting arrivals with seeing a friend off and postponing a purchase. Read direction, preparation, and what is deferred without adding a completed arrival or purchase.
迎える: preparing to welcome and going to pick someone up
迎える (むかえる) refers to welcoming an arriving person in these examples. 「玄関で客を迎えるため、花を飾った。」 means “I decorated the entrance with flowers to welcome the guests.” 客を迎えるため states the purpose of the decoration. The reported action is preparation, not the guests' completed arrival.
「母を駅まで迎えに行く。」 means “I am going to the station to pick up my mother.” 母を identifies the person to be met, and 駅まで gives the place the speaker is going to. Going to pick her up should not be turned into having already met her and returned home.
出迎える: greeting a friend and welcoming family
出迎える (でむかえる) is used for greeting or meeting someone who arrives. 「駅で友人を出迎えました。」 means “I went to meet my friend at the station.” The station is where the friend is met. This arrival scene differs in direction from 見送る used for seeing a departing person off.
「犬が玄関で家族を出迎える。」 means “The dog greets the family at the front door.” The dog is the greeter and the family is being greeted. This example shows that the actor need not be human and that 出迎える is not restricted to a station or another place away from home.
見送る: seeing someone off or postponing a purchase
In 「駅のホームで友人を見送った。」, 見送る (みおくる) refers to seeing a friend off. The translation is “I saw my friend off on the station platform.” The friend is departing, unlike the arriving friend in the 出迎えました example.
「予算が足りないため、設備の購入を見送ることにした。」 means “Because of the limited budget, we decided to postpone purchasing the equipment.” Here the object is 設備の購入, so 見送る refers to deferring the purchase. The decision does not report equipment being seen off, a completed purchase, or permanent cancellation.
Does 「予算が足りないため、設備の購入を見送ることにした。」 mean that the equipment was already bought or was seen off like a person?
Show the answer and why
No. It means that a decision was made to postpone buying the equipment. 見送る refers to deferring the purchase here, without stating a completed purchase or permanent cancellation.