Translation guide
The feeling of longing for something, often with a sense of sadness or incompleteness. Japanese expresses this through various words and phrases that differ in intensity, object of longing, and nuance.
Expressing a strong, often painful desire for someone or something absent, or for an idealized state.
A deep admiration and longing for something or someone, often idealized. It can be used for people, places, lifestyles, or abstract ideals. It carries a sense of aspiration and sometimes unattainability.
She has a yearning for city life.
When I was a child, I yearned to be an astronaut.
An earnest, intense longing or desire, often for something specific. More formal and stronger than 憧れ. Commonly used in written language.
He yearns for peace.
A literary term for longing, often with a nostalgic or romantic nuance. It implies missing someone deeply.
She was seized with yearning for her hometown.
Expressing a sentimental yearning for past times, places, or experiences.
Expressing a romantic or emotional longing for someone, often with sadness due to separation.
To yearn for someone with intense love or passion; to pine for. Often used in romantic contexts.
He is yearning for his faraway lover.
An expression meaning 'I can't stand not seeing you' or 'I'm dying to see you'. Conveys strong yearning to meet someone.
Expressing an undefined longing or wanderlust, a desire for something more without a clear object.
憧れ (akogare) is often used for admiration-based longing, like yearning for a lifestyle or ideal. 切望 (setsubou) is a stronger, more desperate desire for something specific, often used in formal contexts.
yearning for city life (admiration)
yearn for peace (earnest desire)
Directly translating 'yearning' as a single Japanese word can sound unnatural. Often, it's better to use a phrase like 〜たいと強く願う (strongly wish to...) or 〜に憧れる (admire/long for) depending on context.
She felt a deep yearning for her homeland.
His eyes were full of yearning.
Loanword from English 'nostalgia'. Used similarly to English, often for a sentimental longing for the past.
That movie evokes a yearning for the 80s.
I'm yearning to see her so much I can't stand it.
In my youth, I had a vague yearning.