もたれる

も

た

れ

る

もたれる · ichidan verb

Form	Positive	Negative
Dictionary	もたれる	もたれない
Polite	もたれます	もたれません
Past polite	もたれました	もたれませんでした
Past	もたれた	もたれなかった
Te-form	もたれて	もたれないで
Desire	もたれたい	もたれたくない
Potential	もたれられるalso もたれれる	もたれられないalso もたれれない
Passive	もたれられる	もたれられない
Causative	もたれさせる	もたれさせない
Causative passive	もたれさせられる	もたれさせられない
Volitional	もたれよう
Polite volitional	もたれましょう
Imperative	もたれろ	もたれるな
Conditional	もたれれば	もたれなければ
Tara conditional	もたれたら	もたれなかったら

Pairs withもたせる

Meanings

ichidan verb, intransitive verb

lean against; lean on; recline on

usually written using kana alone

Describes a person or thing resting their weight against something for support. Often used with に or へ.

彼かれは壁かべにもたれて立たっていた。
He was standing leaning against the wall.
ソファにもたれて本ほんを読よむ。
I lean back on the sofa and read a book.

ichidan verb, intransitive verb

lie heavy on the stomach; be hard to digest

usually written using kana alone

Used for food that feels heavy or sits uneasily in the stomach. Often appears as 胃にもたれる or 胸にもたれる.

脂あぶらっこい料りょう理りは胃いにもたれる。
Greasy food lies heavy on the stomach.

See all 30 example sentences ›

Usage patterns

〈物もの〉に凭もたれるto lean against something
彼かれは壁かべに凭もたれてタバコを吸すった。
He leaned against the wall and smoked a cigarette.
胃いに凭もたれるto lie heavy on one's stomach
昨さく夜や食たべた天てんぷらがまだ胃いに凭もたれている。
The tempura I ate last night is still sitting heavy in my stomach.
〈人ひと〉に凭もたれるto lean on someone (physically or for support)
子こ供どもは眠ねむくて母はは親おやに凭もたれて座すわっていた。
The child, sleepy, sat leaning against his mother.

Kanji

凭lean on, recline on, lie heavy
靠lean on

Transitive / intransitive

もたせる sense 1
凭せる is the transitive counterpart of 凭れる, meaning 'to lean something against' rather than 'to lean oneself against'.

Related words

寄より掛かかるN1sense 1
寄りかかる often implies leaning with more weight or emotional dependence, while 凭れる is a more neutral term for simply leaning or reclining against something.
預あずけるN3
もたれる is intransitive and describes the body leaning on something by itself, while 預ける (as in 体を預ける) frames it as an action the person deliberately takes.
寄よるN4
もたれる is the everyday modern verb for leaning against something, while 寄る in this sense is limited and mostly literary.

Don't confuse with

もたげる
もたげる sounds similar to 凭れる but is a transitive verb meaning 'to lift up' or 'to raise', unrelated in meaning.

Word family

もたれかかる
lean on; rest against; recline · rely on; depend on

Written forms

もたれるUsage80%
Usually written in kana; the kanji forms 凭れる and 靠れる are rare.
凭もたれるUsage18%
rarely-used kanji form
Rare kanji form; not commonly used.
靠もたれるUsage2%
rarely-used kanji form
Rare kanji form; not commonly used.

Etymology

Derived from the verb 持つ (もつ, 'to hold') with the auxiliary verb れる, originally meaning 'to be held' or 'to be supported', which developed into the modern sense of leaning against something.