当てる

当てる

"To hit, apply, guess, or assign."

In this sentence, '当てる' is used in the sense of 'guessing correctly' or 'hitting upon the right answer'.

彼はクイズの答えを当てた。

He guessed the answer to the quiz correctly.

Here, '当てる' means 'to expose or apply something to something else'.

太陽の光を肌に当てる。

Expose the skin to sunlight.

In this case, '当てる' conveys 'meeting expectations' or 'aligning with'. Note: despite aligning with the original term, a negation usage ('not aligning or not meeting') is presented.

打てば響くと考えたが、期待が当たらなかった。

I thought it would resonate immediately, but my expectations were not met.