敬うやまう

う

や

ま

う

Common wordJLPTN2Freq.FrequencyTop 50,000

敬う · godan verb (-u)

Form	Positive	Negative
Dictionary	敬うやまう	敬うやまわない
Polite	敬うやまいます	敬うやまいません
Past polite	敬うやまいました	敬うやまいませんでした
Past	敬うやまった	敬うやまわなかった
Te-form	敬うやまって	敬うやまわないで
Desire	敬うやまいたい	敬うやまいたくない
Potential	敬うやまえる	敬うやまえない
Passive	敬うやまわれる	敬うやまわれない
Causative	敬うやまわせる	敬うやまわせない
Causative passive	敬うやまわせられるalso 敬うやまわされる	敬うやまわせられないalso 敬うやまわされない
Volitional	敬うやまおう
Polite volitional	敬うやまいましょう
Imperative	敬うやまえ	敬うやまうな
Conditional	敬うやまえば	敬うやまわなければ
Tara conditional	敬うやまったら	敬うやまわなかったら

Meanings

godan verb (-u), transitive verb

respect; revere; honor

Used for showing deep respect toward people, deities, ancestors, or traditions. Often implies a sense of reverence or esteem.

私わたしたちは先せん祖ぞを敬うやまうべきだ。
We should respect our ancestors.
彼かれは先せん生せいをとても敬うやまっている。
He deeply respects his teacher.

See all 58 example sentences ›

Usage patterns

〈人ひと〉を心こころから敬うやまうto respect someone from the bottom of one's heart
彼かれは師しを心こころから敬うやまっている。
He respects his teacher with all his heart.
年とし上うえの人ひとを敬うやまうto show respect toward one's elders
日本にほんでは年とし上うえの人ひとを敬うやまう習しゅう慣かんがある。
In Japan, there is a custom of respecting one's elders.

Expressions

神かみを敬うやまうrevere God; worship God

Kanji

敬awe, respect, honor

Related words

尊そん敬けいN3
尊敬する is the everyday, general word for 'to respect' someone, while 敬う carries a stronger, more formal sense of reverence often used for elders, gods, or traditions.
崇あがめる
崇める means 'to worship' or 'to venerate' and expresses an even higher degree of reverence than 敬う, often in religious or idolizing contexts.
敬けい愛あい
敬愛する combines respect with affection, describing warm admiration for a person, whereas 敬う is more solemn and can apply to gods or traditions as well as people.
見み上あげるN3
敬う focuses purely on the feeling of reverence toward someone, whereas 見上げる retains the visual sense of looking up at them.
尊とうとぶN1
敬う is a common word for showing respect to a person, while 尊ぶ carries a more formal, almost reverential tone.

Opposites

軽けい蔑べつN1
軽蔑する means 'to despise or look down on', the direct opposite of 敬う, which means to hold someone in high regard.
侮あなどるN1
敬う means to respect and hold in high regard, the opposite of 侮る's sense of contempt or underestimation.
貶おとしめる
敬う means to respect and honor someone, the opposite of 貶める, which means to disparage and lower their worth.
舐なめるN2
敬う means to respect or revere someone, the opposite of 舐める's sense of looking down on or underestimating them.

Word family

敬うやまい
reverence; respect; veneration

Written forms

敬うやまうUsage93%
Standard kanji spelling; the only written form.
うやまうUsage7%

Etymology

The kanji 敬 means 'respect' or 'revere'. The reading うやまう is a native Japanese verb. The exact derivation is uncertain, but it may be related to the old honorific prefix うや (uya) and the verb まう (mau, 'to dance' or 'to offer'), though this is speculative.