Common word› JLPT N1 › Freq. Frequency Top 20,000 Conjugation 老ける · ichidan verb
Form Positive Negative Dictionary 老ふ ける 老ふ けない Polite 老ふ けます 老ふ けません Past polite 老ふ けました 老ふ けませんでした Past 老ふ けた 老ふ けなかった Te-form 老ふ けて 老ふ けないで Desire 老ふ けたい 老ふ けたくない Potential 老ふ けられる also 老ふ けれる 老ふ けられない also 老ふ けれない Passive 老ふ けられる 老ふ けられない Causative 老ふ けさせる 老ふ けさせない Causative passive 老ふ けさせられる 老ふ けさせられない Volitional 老ふ けよう Polite volitional 老ふ けましょう Imperative 老ふ けろ 老ふ けるな Conditional 老ふ ければ 老ふ けなければ Tara conditional 老ふ けたら 老ふ けなかったら
Usage patterns 〈 人ひと 〉 が 老ふ けて 見み える for someone to look older than they are
He looks much older than his actual age.
急きゅう に 老ふ ける to suddenly age or look older
I feel like she suddenly looks older after giving birth.
〈 事こと 〉 で 老ふ ける to age or look older because of something
Stress can sometimes make you look older.
Kanji 老 old man, old age, grow old 化 change, take the form of, influence Related words 年を取る is a neutral, common way to say someone is getting older in years, while 老ける specifically points to looking older in appearance.
老いる is a more literary/formal word for growing old, often implying general decline, whereas 老ける is colloquial and focuses on visible signs like wrinkles or gray hair.
老ける describes visibly aging or looking older than one's years, while 年取った is a neutral prenominal form simply meaning 'aged' or 'old'.
老ける is the common, everyday verb for growing old, while 長ける in this sense is a rare, literary expression for aging.
Don't confuse with 更ける is pronounced the same as 老ける but means 'to grow late' (used for night or seasons deepening), not 'to age in appearance'.
耽る shares the same pronunciation as 老ける but means 'to be absorbed in' or 'indulge in' something, a completely different meaning.
老ける describes looking old or aging in appearance, whereas 老いる refers to the actual process of growing old, regardless of looks.
Written forms 老ふ ける Usage 100%
Standard kanji spelling for 'to age, to look old'.
化ふ ける
Rare alternate kanji; 化ける is normally read ばける (to transform). This spelling for ふける is uncommon and may cause confusion.
Etymology Derived from the verb 更ける (ふける , 'to grow late, to deepen'), with a semantic shift toward advancing age and visible aging. The kanji 老 is used specifically for the 'age' meaning.
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