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ぐれる Japanese meaning | Kotomora
Freq. Frequency Top 20,000 Conjugation Meanings 1
ichidan verb, intransitive verb
go astray ; go wrong ; turn delinquent
Describes a person, especially a young person, who starts behaving badly, breaking rules, or becoming a delinquent. Often used in the perfective form ぐれた.
もの
たち
が
夜よる
の
街まち
を
うろつい
て
い
た
。
Delinquent youths were loitering in the streets at night.
Written forms ぐれる Usage 28%
Standard kana spelling; no kanji form is given.
グレる Usage 72%
Katakana spelling sometimes used for emphasis or in casual writing.
Similar words 不ふ 良りょう A noun meaning 'delinquent' or 'bad behavior'; ぐれる is the verb describing the process of becoming delinquent.
道みち を 踏ふ み 外はず す A more formal expression meaning 'to stray from the right path'; ぐれる is more colloquial and often used for youth delinquency.
Etymology The origin is uncertain, but it may be related to the verb くれる (to give) in a slangy, inverted sense, or from a contraction of ぐれつく (to become unruly).