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Freq.FrequencyTop 20,000

堪る · godan verb (-ru)

Form	Positive	Negative
Dictionary	堪たまる	堪たまらない
Polite	堪たまります	堪たまりません
Past polite	堪たまりました	堪たまりませんでした
Past	堪たまった	堪たまらなかった
Te-form	堪たまって	堪たまらないで
Desire	堪たまりたい	堪たまりたくない
Potential	堪たまれる	堪たまれない
Passive	堪たまられる	堪たまられない
Causative	堪たまらせる	堪たまらせない
Causative passive	堪たまらせられるalso 堪たまらされる	堪たまらせられないalso 堪たまらされない
Volitional	堪たまろう
Polite volitional	堪たまりましょう
Imperative	堪たまれ	堪たまるな
Conditional	堪たまれば	堪たまらなければ
Tara conditional	堪たまったら	堪たまらなかったら

Pairs withこらえる

Meanings

godan verb (-ru), intransitive verb

bear; endure; stand

usually written using kana alone

Almost exclusively used in the negative potential form たまらない (堪らない) meaning 'unbearable' or 'irresistible'. The plain form たまる is rare and often emphatic, appearing in set phrases like たまるか ('as if I could bear it!').

Usage patterns

〈形けい容よう詞し〉くてたまらないunbearably [adjective]; so [adjective] one can't stand it
この虫むし刺さされが痒かゆくてたまらない。
This bug bite is unbearably itchy.
〈動どう詞し〉たくてたまらないto want to do something so badly one can't stand it
彼かれに会あいたくてたまらない。
I want to see him so badly I can hardly stand it.
〈動どう詞し〉てたまるかrhetorical: 'as if I'd let that happen!'; expresses defiant refusal to accept something
あんな奴やつに負まけてたまるか。
There's no way I'm going to lose to a guy like that!

Kanji

堪withstand, endure, support

Transitive / intransitive

こらえるN2
堪える is the transitive verb meaning to hold back or endure something (涙を堪える), while 堪る is intransitive and describes a state of being bearable, mostly seen as たまらない 'unbearable'.

Related words

耐たえるN2
耐える is the common verb for enduring hardship or pain, while 堪る is rare and almost only appears as たまらない, meaning something is unbearable.
我が慢まんN3
我慢する describes a deliberate, patient act of putting up with something, whereas 堪る (usually as たまらない) describes an involuntary feeling that something has become unbearable.

Don't confuse with

たまるN3
溜まる (to accumulate, pool up, as of water or stress) is pronounced identically to 堪る but has no shared meaning of enduring or being unbearable.
貯たまるN3
貯まる (for money or savings to build up) sounds the same as 堪る but refers to accumulating funds, not to enduring something.

Word family

たまりかねる
can't stand it any longer; unable to bear; can't put up with

Written forms

堪たまるUsage6%
Kanji spelling is rare; the word is usually written in kana.
たまるUsage94%
Standard kana spelling; the word is almost always written this way.
堪たまるUsage<1%
Alternate kanji spelling; even rarer than 堪る.

Etymology

This native verb is historically associated with 溜まる “accumulate, be contained”; in the sense “endure,” it now occurs chiefly in negative and conditional expressions such as たまらない.