Common word› JLPT N3 › Freq. Frequency Top 5,000 Conjugation 頼る · godan verb (-ru)
Form Positive Negative Dictionary 頼たよ る 頼たよ らない Polite 頼たよ ります 頼たよ りません Past polite 頼たよ りました 頼たよ りませんでした Past 頼たよ った 頼たよ らなかった Te-form 頼たよ って 頼たよ らないで Desire 頼たよ りたい 頼たよ りたくない Potential 頼たよ れる 頼たよ れない Passive 頼たよ られる 頼たよ られない Causative 頼たよ らせる 頼たよ らせない Causative passive 頼たよ らせられる also 頼たよ らされる 頼たよ らせられない also 頼たよ らされない Volitional 頼たよ ろう Polite volitional 頼たよ りましょう Imperative 頼たよ れ 頼たよ るな Conditional 頼たよ れば 頼たよ らなければ Tara conditional 頼たよ ったら 頼たよ らなかったら
Usage patterns 〈 人ひと 〉 に 頼たよ る to rely on/turn to someone (for help)
Whenever I'm in trouble, I always turn to my older sister.
〈 物もの 〉 に 頼たよ る to rely on something (a tool, resource, etc.)
When I work late, I end up relying on medicine.
Expressions 頼たよ りにする rely on; depend on; count on 頼たよ りになる reliable; dependable; trustworthy Kanji 便 convenience, facility, excrement Transitive / intransitive 頼る can be used intransitively with に, as in 友達に頼る (to rely on a friend), or transitively with を in set phrases like 力を頼る (to rely on someone's strength), though the に-pattern is far more common.
Related words· 9 依存する implies a stronger, often unhealthy dependence, while 頼る is more neutral and can describe healthy reliance.
信頼する focuses on trusting someone's character or ability, whereas 頼る is about actively seeking their help or support.
あてにする is a casual way to say you're counting on someone or something to come through, very close to 頼る but slightly more colloquial.
頼る is a neutral, everyday word for relying on someone or something, while すがる implies a desperate, clinging dependence.
Show 5 more Show fewer 頼る is a neutral word for relying on someone for help, while 甘える carries a childish or indulgence-seeking nuance, often implying one is overstepping the other's kindness.
頼る is a general verb meaning to rely on someone or something, while おんぶ (used with する ) specifically evokes leaning on someone as if being carried.
頼る is the common transitive verb for relying on someone in everyday contexts, while 寄り掛かる carries a stronger, often negative nuance of leaning too heavily on someone.
頼る is a general verb for relying on someone, while 仰ぐ is used with formal nouns like 援助 or 判断 to mean seeking that help from a specific authority.
頼る means to lean on or depend on someone or something for support in general, while 頼む in this sense specifically means counting on someone as a source of help.
Don't confuse with 頼む means to request or ask someone to do something, while 頼る means to rely on someone or something for support; the two are easy to mix up due to their similar kanji and sound.
便り (たより ) means news or a letter, a homophone of 頼り /頼る that has nothing to do with relying on someone.
Word family reliance; dependence; trust
unreliable; undependable; vague · helpless; forlorn · uneasy; worried
reliance on others; depending on other people
reliability; trustworthiness; dependability
dependable; reliable
Written forms 頼たよ る Usage 91%
Standard kanji spelling; used in most contexts.
たよる Usage 8%
便たよ る Usage 1%
rarely-used kanji form
Rarely used kanji form.
Etymology The kanji 頼 carries meanings of 'request' and 'rely on'. The verb 頼る is a native Japanese word (和語 ) with the reading たよる , whose historical derivation is uncertain.
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