あれこれ

あれこれ考かんがえるto think over various things; to mull things over
将しょう来らいのことをあれこれ考かんがえている。
I've been mulling over various things about my future.
かれこれ〈数かず〉になるto be roughly (a certain amount of time) now
この会かい社しゃに入はいってかれこれ十じゅう年ねんになる。
It's been roughly ten years since I joined this company.
あれこれ(と)言いうto say all sorts of things (often criticizing or nagging)
他た人にんのことをあれこれ言いうのはやめなさい。
Stop saying all sorts of things about other people.
あれこれ悩なやむto worry over various things
結けっ婚こんするかどうかあれこれ悩なやんでいる。
I'm worrying over various things about whether to get married.

Kanji

彼he, that, the
是just so, this, right
此this, current, next

Related words· 7

いろいろN5sense 1
いろいろ is the common, neutral word for 'various things', while あれこれ often carries a nuance of picking through a scattered or worrying list of matters.
約やくN3sense 2
約 is a formal, precise way to express 'approximately' used with numbers, while かれこれ is a casual expression typically used with elapsed time or age.
様さま々ざまN3sense 1
様々 emphasizes the diversity or variety of things, while あれこれ suggests going through unspecified things one by one, often with hesitation.
およそN3sense 2
およそ is a general-purpose approximation word usable with any quantity, while かれこれ is colloquial and used mainly for time or age that has passed.

Show 3 more

とやかくN1
あれこれ is a neutral 'this and that' usable for many topics, while とやかく is used almost only for critical or complaining remarks.
そんなこんな
あれこれ means 'this and that' in a general sense of doing or considering various things, while そんなこんな specifically wraps up a preceding string of events before stating a result.
なんだかんだN2
あれこれ is more concrete, meaning 'this and that' as specific various things or topics, while なんだかんだ is more abstract and often used to summarize or brush over details.

Don't confuse with

あちこちN3sense 1
あちこち sounds and looks similar to あれこれ but means 'here and there' (places), whereas あれこれ means 'this and that' (things/matters).

Written forms

あれこれUsage83%
Standard kana spelling; the word is usually written in kana.
かれこれUsage15%
アレコレUsage2%
kana-only spelling
Katakana spelling, sometimes used for emphasis or in casual writing.
彼是あれこれUsage<1%
rarely-used kanji form
Rare kanji form; not commonly used.
彼此Usage<1%
rarely-used kanji form
- あれこれ
  Rare kanji form; also has the reading かれこれ for the 'about' sense.
- かれこれ
  Rare kanji form for the 'about' sense, read かれこれ.
- ひし
ひし

Etymology

Reduplication of あれ (that) and これ (this), literally 'that and this'. The reading かれこれ is from かれ (that) and これ (this), with the same structure. The 'about' sense developed from the idea of 'this or that' approximating a number.