憂うれえる

う

れ

え

る

憂える · ichidan verb

Form	Positive	Negative
Dictionary	憂うれえる	憂うれえない
Polite	憂うれえます	憂うれえません
Past polite	憂うれえました	憂うれえませんでした
Past	憂うれえた	憂うれえなかった
Te-form	憂うれえて	憂うれえないで
Desire	憂うれえたい	憂うれえたくない
Potential	憂うれえられるalso 憂うれえれる	憂うれえられないalso 憂うれえれない
Passive	憂うれえられる	憂うれえられない
Causative	憂うれえさせる	憂うれえさせない
Causative passive	憂うれえさせられる	憂うれえさせられない
Volitional	憂うれえよう
Polite volitional	憂うれえましょう
Imperative	憂うれえろ	憂うれえるな
Conditional	憂うれえれば	憂うれえなければ
Tara conditional	憂うれえたら	憂うれえなかったら

Meanings

ichidan verb, transitive verb

worry about; be anxious about; be concerned about

Expresses personal worry or anxiety about a situation, often with a nuance of brooding. Commonly used in formal or written contexts.

彼かれは将しょう来らいのことを憂うれえている。
He is worried about the future.
親おやは子こ供どもの健けん康こうを憂うれえるものだ。
Parents naturally worry about their children's health.

ichidan verb, transitive verb

lament; grieve; feel sorrow for

Used for deeper sorrow or lamentation, often over a loss, tragedy, or societal ill. More literary than sense 1.

詩し人じんは戦せん争そうの悲ひ惨さんさを憂うれえた。
The poet lamented the tragedy of war.
彼かの女じょは友ともの死しを深ふかく憂うれえた。
She deeply grieved her friend's death.

See all 14 example sentences ›

Usage patterns

〈事こと〉を憂うれえるto worry about / lament over a matter
彼かれは国くにの将しょう来らいを憂うれえている。
He is deeply worried about the future of the country.
世よを憂うれえるto lament the state of the world/society
彼かれは乱みだれた世よを憂うれえ、詩しに思おもいを込こめた。
Lamenting the troubled state of the world, he poured his feelings into a poem.
〈人ひと〉の身みを憂うれえるto worry about someone's safety or wellbeing
母ははは息子むすこの身みを憂うれえて眠ねむれなかった。
The mother couldn't sleep, worrying about her son's safety.

Expressions

備そなえあれば憂うれえなしpreparation prevents worry; if you are prepared, you have nothing to fear

Kanji

憂melancholy, grieve, lament
愁distress, grieve, lament
患afflicted, disease, suffer from

Related words

心しん配ぱいN5sense 1
心配する is the everyday, neutral word for worrying about something, while 憂える is more formal and literary, often implying a deeper or brooding concern.
悲かなしむN3sense 2
悲しむ is the general word for feeling sad, while 憂える carries a heavier, more literary tone of lamentation over loss or tragedy.
案あんじるN1sense 1
案じる is a slightly formal way to express worry about someone's safety or a situation, similar in register to 憂える but without its literary weight of lamentation.
嘆なげくN2sense 2
嘆く emphasizes audible or expressive grief and lamentation, while 憂える can describe a quieter, inward brooding sorrow.
危き惧ぐN1sense 1
危惧する means to fear or be apprehensive about a possible bad outcome, whereas 憂える can also cover ongoing sorrow, not just anticipated danger.

Opposites

安あん心しんN4sense 1
安心する means to feel relieved or at ease, the direct opposite of the anxious brooding expressed by 憂える.

Word family

憂うれえ
grief; sorrow; lamentation; mourning · anxiety; worry; concern · illness; sickness

Written forms

憂うれえるUsage92%
Standard kanji spelling for worrying, grieving, and lamenting.
うれえるUsage6%
愁うれえるUsage2%
rarely-used kanji form
Rarely used kanji form.
患うれえる
rarely-used kanji form
Rarely used kanji form.

Etymology

Derived from classical Japanese verb 憂ふ (うれう), which combined 憂 (うれ, 'sorrow, worry') with the verbal suffix ふ. The modern form 憂える is the potential or spontaneous form that became lexicalized as the standard dictionary form.