躊躇う

Japanese
Kanji in this term
躊 躇
Hyōgaiji Hyōgaiji
Irregular

Etymology

Derived from verb ためる (tameru, “矯める, 揉める, 撓める: to correct, to train, to reform”), as the 未然形 (mizenkei, “incomplete form”) tamera- + auxiliary verb ふ (fu, indicating repetition or ongoing state: modern verb ending う u): “to be in the act of correction, to make something stay corrected”.[1]

Root verb tameru derives from the older form たむ (tamu) of the same meaning.

The kanji are ateji (当て字) based on the Chinese meaning for 躊躇.

Pronunciation
  • (Irregular reading)
    • (Tokyo) ためら​う [tàméráꜜù] (Nakadaka – [3])[2]
    • IPA(key): [ta̠me̞ɾa̠ɯ̟ᵝ]

Verb

躊躇う (transitive, godan conjugation, hiragana ためらう, rōmaji tamerau, historical hiragana ためらふ)

  1. to quell or restrain disordered emotions, such as due to high spirits or sadness: to calm one's feelings
  2. to ease or alleviate the symptoms of disease
  3. by extension from sense 1, to take the time to think things through calmly before making a decision: to ponder something, to consider something
  4. to calmly observe something

躊躇う (intransitive, godan conjugation, hiragana ためらう, rōmaji tamerau, historical hiragana ためらふ)

  1. by extension from transitive sense 3, to hesitate, to be undecided, to waver

Usage notes

The intransitive sense of "to hesitate" appears to be the most common sense in modern Japanese.

Due to the complicated stroke order of the kanji, this word is often spelled in hiragana.

Conjugation
Conjugation of "躊躇う" (See Appendix:Japanese verbs.)
Stem forms
Imperfective (未然形) 躊躇わ ためらわ tamerawa
Continuative (連用形) 躊躇い ためらい tamerai
Terminal (終止形) 躊躇う ためらう tamerau
Attributive (連体形) 躊躇う ためらう tamerau
Hypothetical (仮定形) 躊躇え ためらえ tamerae
Imperative (命令形) 躊躇え ためらえ tamerae
Key constructions
Passive 躊躇われる ためらわれる tamerawareru
Causative 躊躇わせる
躊躇わす		 ためらわせる
ためらわす		 tamerawaseru
tamerawasu
Potential 躊躇える ためらえる tameraeru
Volitional 躊躇おう ためらおう tameraō
Negative 躊躇わない ためらわない tamerawanai
Negative continuative 躊躇わず ためらわず tamerawazu
Formal 躊躇います ためらいます tameraimasu
Perfective 躊躇った ためらった tameratta
Conjunctive 躊躇って ためらって tameratte
Hypothetical conditional 躊躇えば ためらえば tameraeba

Synonyms

Derived terms

References
  1. 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
  2. 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
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