憂うれい

う

れ

い

Common wordFreq.FrequencyTop 50,000

Meanings

noun

sorrow; grief; anguish

Deep emotional pain, sadness, or distress; often literary or formal. 愁い is especially associated with this nuance.

彼かれの顔かおには深ふかい憂うれいの色いろが浮うかんでいた。
A look of deep sorrow was on his face.
愁うれいを帯おびた旋せん律りつが心こころにしみた。
The melody tinged with melancholy touched my heart.

noun

anxiety; worry; concern

Worry about the future, unease, or misgivings; 憂い is the typical kanji for this sense.

将しょう来らいへの憂うれいが募つのる。
Anxiety about the future grows.
彼かれは国くにの行ゆく末すえを憂うれいている。
He is worried about the future of the country.

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Usage patterns

〈人ひと〉の顔かおに憂うれいが浮うかぶa look of sorrow appears on someone's face
彼かの女じょの顔かおに憂うれいが浮うかんでいた。
A look of sorrow appeared on her face.
憂うれいに沈しずむto sink into deep sorrow
彼かれは憂うれいに沈しずんだ表ひょう情じょうで座すわっていた。
He sat there with an expression sunk in sorrow.
〈事こと〉に憂うれいを抱いだくto harbor anxiety about something
将しょう来らいに憂うれいを抱いだいている人ひとは多おおい。
Many people harbor anxiety about the future.
憂うれいを晴はらすto dispel one's worries or sorrow
旅たびに出でて憂うれいを晴はらした。
I went on a trip to dispel my worries.

Expressions

後こう顧この憂うれいanxiety about the future; looking back with worry
備そなえあれば憂うれいなしprevention is better than cure; better safe than sorry

Kanji

憂melancholy, grieve, lament
愁distress, grieve, lament
患afflicted, disease, suffer from

Related words

心しん配ぱいN5sense 2
心配 is the everyday word for worry or concern, while 憂い is a more literary term implying a deeper, more lingering unease.
悲かなしみN3sense 1
悲しみ is the common, plain word for sadness, whereas 憂い carries a heavier, more literary or classical nuance of sorrow.
不ふ安あんN3sense 2
不安 is the standard modern word for anxiety or unease, while 憂い is more formal and often used in literary contexts.
憂うさ
憂い is a literary word for sorrow or grief over a specific worry, whereas 憂さ describes a more diffuse, accumulated feeling of gloom.
嘆なげきN1
憂い conveys anxious worry or melancholy, whereas 嘆き specifically refers to grief that is expressed through lament.

Opposites

喜よろこびN3sense 1
喜び (joy) is the emotional opposite of 憂い in its sense of sorrow or grief.
安あん心しんN4sense 2
安心 (peace of mind) is the opposite of 憂い when 憂い means anxiety or worry.

Don't confuse with

憂ゆう鬱うつN2sense 1
憂鬱 describes a lingering state of depression or gloominess, while 憂い refers to a specific feeling of sorrow or worry, often momentary.

Word family

憂うれい事ごと
sad or distressing matter; source of grief; bitter experience
憂うれい顔がお
sad face; anxious look
憂うれい悩なやむ
be deeply troubled; be anguished

Written forms

憂うれいUsage81%
Standard kanji for both sorrow and anxiety; high-frequency news and spec form.
愁うれいUsage16%
Especially associated with sorrow, grief, or melancholy.
うれいUsage3%
患うれい
rarely-used kanji form
Rarely used kanji form.

Etymology

Derived from the verb 憂う (うれう), meaning to worry or grieve. The kanji 憂, 愁, and 患 share overlapping meanings related to worry, sorrow, and illness, but 憂い is the most general written form.