怠おこたる

お

こ

た

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Common wordJLPTN2Freq.FrequencyTop 20,000

怠る · godan verb (-ru)

Form	Positive	Negative
Dictionary	怠おこたる	怠おこたらない
Polite	怠おこたります	怠おこたりません
Past polite	怠おこたりました	怠おこたりませんでした
Past	怠おこたった	怠おこたらなかった
Te-form	怠おこたって	怠おこたらないで
Desire	怠おこたりたい	怠おこたりたくない
Potential	怠おこたれる	怠おこたれない
Passive	怠おこたられる	怠おこたられない
Causative	怠おこたらせる	怠おこたらせない
Causative passive	怠おこたらせられるalso 怠おこたらされる	怠おこたらせられないalso 怠おこたらされない
Volitional	怠おこたろう
Polite volitional	怠おこたりましょう
Imperative	怠おこたれ	怠おこたるな
Conditional	怠おこたれば	怠おこたらなければ
Tara conditional	怠おこたったら	怠おこたらなかったら

Meanings

godan verb (-ru), transitive verb

neglect; be negligent in; fail to do

Transitive use: to neglect a duty, task, or obligation. Often used with nouns like 注意, 義務, 手入れ, or 勉強.

彼かれは注ちゅう意いを怠おこたって事じ故こを起おこした。
He neglected to pay attention and caused an accident.
毎まい日にちの練れん習しゅうを怠おこたると上じょう達たつしない。
If you neglect daily practice, you won't improve.

godan verb (-ru), intransitive verb

get better; improve (illness)

dated term

Dated intransitive use for an illness improving. Modern Japanese usually uses 良くなる or 回復する instead.

昔むかしの文もん書じょでは「病やまいが怠おこたる」と書かかれることがあった。
In old documents, one might see 'the illness gets better' written as 病が怠る.

See all 82 example sentences ›

Usage patterns

〈事こと〉を怠おこたるto neglect (a duty or task)
彼かれは自じ分ぶんの義ぎ務むを怠おこたった。
He neglected his own duty.
〈物もの〉の手て入いれを怠おこたるto neglect the upkeep/maintenance of something
車くるまの手て入いれを怠おこたると故こ障しょうしやすくなる。
If you neglect car maintenance, it's more likely to break down.
練れん習しゅうを怠おこたるto neglect practicing
毎まい日にちの練れん習しゅうを怠おこたると腕うでが落おちる。
If you neglect daily practice, your skill will decline.

Expressions

注ちゅう意いを怠おこたるbe off one's guard; let one's attention lapse; be careless

Kanji

怠neglect, laziness

Transitive / intransitive

怠る can be used transitively, taking a direct object such as a duty (義務を怠る, "to neglect one's duty"), and in older, now less common usage it was also used intransitively to mean an illness improving.

Related words

怠なまけるN3sense 1
怠ける means to be lazy or idle in general, without a specific duty in mind, while 怠る specifically means to neglect a particular responsibility or task.
サボるN2sense 1
サボる is casual slang for intentionally skipping or slacking off, whereas 怠る can describe neglect from carelessness as well as intent.
おろそかにする sense 1
疎かにする means to treat something carelessly or without due attention, close to 怠る's sense of neglecting a duty, but 疎かにする emphasizes the careless attitude rather than the omission itself.
欠かかすN2
怠る means to neglect or be negligent and can be used freely in the positive, whereas 欠かす is nearly always negated as 欠かさない to mean 'never fail to do'.
おろそかN2
怠る is a verb meaning to neglect a duty, while おろそか is an adjectival noun used in the set phrase 〜をおろそかにする to describe the same state of carelessness.

Opposites· 6

努つとめるN2sense 1
努める means to make an effort or strive to do something, the opposite of 怠る's meaning of neglecting a duty.
打うち込こむN1
打ち込む means to throw oneself wholeheartedly into an activity, whereas 怠る means to neglect it, the opposite attitude.
心こころ掛がけるN1
怠る means to neglect or fail to make an effort, the opposite of 心がける's conscious, ongoing effort.

Show 3 more

励はげむN1
怠る means to neglect or be negligent about a duty, the opposite of 励む's meaning of diligently applying oneself to it.
尽つくすN2
怠る means to neglect a duty or effort, the opposite of 尽くす's sense of devoting oneself fully to a task or person.
果はたすN2
怠る means to neglect a duty or obligation, the opposite of 果たす which means to fulfill it, as in 義務を怠る vs 義務を果たす.

Word family

怠おこたり
negligence; carelessness; failure to do one's duty
怠おこたりがち
neglectful; prone to neglect
怠おこたりなく
diligently; faithfully; without fail

Written forms

怠おこたるUsage94%
Standard kanji spelling for both senses.
おこたるUsage6%
Kana spelling is common in everyday writing, especially when the kanji is not needed.

Etymology

The historical derivation is uncertain. The kanji 怠 carries the meaning of 'neglect' or 'laziness'.