鬱うつ

う

つ

Common wordFreq.FrequencyTop 10,000

Meanings

usually written using kana alone

Refers to clinical or deep depression; often used in medical and everyday contexts. Cross-referenced with 鬱病 (depression as an illness).

Usage patterns

〈人ひと〉が鬱うつになるfor someone to become depressed
彼かれはストレスで鬱うつになった。
He became depressed from stress.
鬱うつを患わずらうto suffer from depression
姉あねは長ながい間あいだ鬱うつを患わずらっている。
My sister has been suffering from depression for a long time.
鬱うつを治なおすto cure or overcome depression
適てき切せつな治ち療りょうで鬱うつを治なおすことができる。
Depression can be treated with proper therapy.

Expressions

鬱うつを散さんじるchase away gloom; dispel melancholy

Kanji

鬱gloom, depression, melancholy
欝gloom, depression, melancholy

Related words

うつ病びょうN1sense 1
鬱病 specifically refers to the medical condition of depression, while 鬱 can be used more broadly and casually for low spirits or the general concept of depression.
憂ゆう鬱うつN2sense 1
憂鬱 describes an everyday feeling of gloom or melancholy that anyone might experience temporarily, while 鬱 more often points to a serious or clinical state of depression.
気き鬱うつ sense 1
気鬱 is an old-fashioned, literary word for feeling low-spirited, whereas 鬱 is the plain, modern term for depression used in everyday and medical contexts.
鬱うっ蒼そう sense 2
鬱蒼 is the standard modern word for describing thick, shadowy vegetation, while 鬱 in this same sense is an extremely rare literary usage.

Opposites

元げん気きN5sense 1
元気 describes being lively and full of energy, the direct opposite of the low, depressed state described by 鬱.

Word family· 24

憂ゆう鬱うつN2
depression; melancholy; gloom
うっとうしいN2
gloomy; depressing; dreary · irritating; troublesome; annoying · heavy; cloudy; overcast
鬱うっ憤ぷん
pent-up anger; resentment; frustration
陰いん鬱うつ
gloomy; melancholy; dreary; depressed; dismal
鬱うっ屈くつ
gloomy; depressed; pent-up

Show 14 more

うつうつ
gloomy; melancholy; pessimistic
躁そう鬱うつ
manic depression; mood swings
鬱うっ積せき
accumulation; buildup; suppression
鬱うっ蒼そう
dense; thick; lush
抑よく鬱うつ
depression; dejection
暗あん鬱うつ
gloom; melancholy
気き鬱うつ
gloom; melancholy; depression
沈ちん鬱うつ
melancholy; gloom; depression
蓊おう鬱うつ
lush; overgrown; exuberant (of vegetation)
酒さけ鬱うつ
post-drinking depression; hangxiety; beer fear
鬱うつ勃ぼつ
pent-up; burning; irrepressible
鬱うつ林りん
dense forest; thick forest · May; fifth month of the lunar calendar
鬱うっ気き
gloomy; melancholy
鬱うつ然ぜん
dense; thick (vegetation) · prominent; popular · gloomy (mood)

See all 24 in Explore →

Written forms

鬱うつUsage41%
Standard kanji spelling, though It is usually written in kana. The kanji is complex and often replaced by うつ in practice.
うつUsage48%
Kana spelling is the usual written form for the depression sense.
ウツUsage6%
欝うつUsage5%
Variant kanji form; less common than 鬱.

Etymology

The kanji 鬱 is a complex character historically associated with dense vegetation and, by extension, pent-up emotions. The reading うつ is the on'yomi. The word is often written in kana due to the kanji's complexity.