shaking; vibration; tremor; flickering
Physical shaking, vibration, or quivering of objects, ground, light, etc. Often used for earthquakes, vehicle motion, or unstable images.
地震の揺れで棚の物が落ちた。
Things fell off the shelf due to the earthquake shaking.
instability; wavering; unsettledness
Figurative use for emotional, mental, or situational instability; hesitation, vacillation, or lack of firmness.
心の揺れを抑えられなかった。
I couldn't suppress the wavering of my heart.
linguistic variation; multiple forms for one word
Linguistics term for a single word having multiple spellings, pronunciations, or usages. Rare outside academic contexts.
I felt a slight tremor while on the train.
It's hard to read because of the train's vibration.
政策の揺れが国民の不信を招いた。
The instability of the policy caused public distrust.
In linguistics, 揺れ refers to the existence of multiple spellings or pronunciations for a single word.
彼の心の揺れが表情から伝わってきた。
His emotional wavering showed on his face.
A big tremor occurred late at night.
After a while, the shaking subsided.
The new design suppresses the vehicle's shaking.
動揺 is a more formal word for emotional disturbance or social unrest, while 揺れ is the everyday term for wavering feelings or unsettled situations.
振動 is the technical/physics term for vibration or oscillation, whereas 揺れ is the everyday word for the same kind of shaking.
揺らぎ suggests a subtler, ongoing fluctuation (often used in scientific or poetic contexts), while 揺れ is the plain, general word for shaking or instability.
ブレ specifically describes blur caused by camera or hand movement in photography, while 揺れ is the broader word for any physical shaking or swaying (e.g. of a building or ground).
揺れ is a general, everyday word for shaking or swaying of any size, whereas 微動 specifically points to a tiny, subtle motion.
揺れ is the everyday, casual word for shaking or swaying, while 震動 is a more technical or written term used in news and scientific contexts.
安定 means stability or steadiness, the opposite of the wavering, unsettled state described by 揺れ.
揺れ is the noun for something swaying or trembling on its own (intransitive), while 揺さぶり is the noun for actively shaking something or someone (transitive).
shake; sway; rock; tremble · waver; become unstable; be shaken
shake; tremble; sway; flicker · be unsettled; fluctuate; waver; vacillate
severe shaking; turbulence; great quake
horizontal shaking; lateral tremor · rolling; swaying
vertical shaking; up-and-down tremor · pitch; pitching motion
Standard kanji spelling for shaking, vibration, and figurative instability.
Kana spelling is common in informal writing and when the physical shaking nuance is clear.
The noun form of the verb 揺れる (yureru, 'to shake'), derived from the verb stem. The kanji 揺 is composed of 扌 (hand) and 䍃 (a phonetic component suggesting shaking or moving).