躊躇う

Japanese

Kanji in this term
躊 躇
ためら
Hyōgaiji Hyōgaiji
jukujikun

Etymology

Derived from verb ためる (tameru, “to correct, to train, to reform”, spelled variously in kanji as 矯める, 揉める, 撓める), as the 未然形 (mizenkei, “incomplete form”) tamera- + auxiliary verb ふ (fu, indicating repetition or ongoing state: modern verb ending う u): “to be in the act of correction, to make something stay corrected”.[1]

Orthographic borrowing from Chinese 躊躇/踌躇 (chóuchú).

Pronunciation

  • (Tokyo) ためら​う [tàméráꜜù] (Nakadaka – [3])[2]
  • IPA(key): [ta̠me̞ɾa̠ɯ̟ᵝ]
  • Tokyo pitch accent of conjugated forms of "ためらう"
Source: Online Japanese Accent Dictionary
Stem forms
Terminal (終止形)
Attributive (連体形)
ためらう ためら​う [tàméráꜜù]
Imperative (命令形) ためらえ ためら​え [tàméráꜜè]
Key constructions
Passive ためらわれる ためらわれ​る [tàméráwáréꜜrù]
Causative ためらわせる ためらわせ​る [tàméráwáséꜜrù]
Potential - - -
Volitional ためらおう ためらお​ー [tàméráóꜜò]
Negative ためらわない ためらわ​ない [tàméráwáꜜnàì]
Negative perfective ためらわなかった ためらわ​なかった [tàméráwáꜜnàkàttà]
Formal ためらいます ためらいま​す [tàméráímáꜜsù]
Perfective ためらった ためら​った [tàméráꜜttà]
Conjunctive ためらって ためら​って [tàméráꜜttè]
Hypothetical conditional ためらえば ためら​えば [tàméráꜜèbà]

Verb

躊躇(ためら)う • (tamerau) ←ためらふ (tamerafu)?transitive godan (stem 躊躇(ためら)い (tamerai), past 躊躇(ためら)った (tameratta))

  1. to quell or restrain disordered emotions, such as due to high spirits or sadness: to calm one's feelings
  2. to ease or alleviate the symptoms of disease
  3. by extension from sense 1, to take the time to think things through calmly before making a decision: to ponder something, to consider something
  4. to calmly observe something

躊躇(ためら)う • (tamerau) ←ためらふ (tamerafu)?intransitive godan (stem 躊躇(ためら)い (tamerai), past 躊躇(ためら)った (tameratta))

  1. by extension from transitive sense 3, to hesitate, to be undecided, to waver

Usage notes

The intransitive sense of "to hesitate" appears to be the most common sense in modern Japanese.

Due to the complicated stroke order of the kanji, this word is often spelled in hiragana.

Conjugation

Synonyms

Derived terms

References

  1. Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典(新装版) [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
  2. Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.