Meaning

Primary

To Be Anxious

Alternatives

To Worry About, To Lament, To Grieve, To Be Distressed

Word Type

transitive verb, ichidan verb

Explanation

This word consists of kanji with hiragana attached. Because the hiragana ends with an sound, you know this word is a verb. The kanji itself means grieve, so the verb version is to grieve or to be anxious.

Reading

うれえる
  • Kyoko
    (Tokyo accent, female)
  • Kenichi
    (Tokyo accent, male)

Explanation

Since this word consists of a kanji with hiragana attached, you can bet that it will use the kun'yomi reading. You didn't learn that reading with this kanji, so here's a mnemonic to help you:

Your aunt starts to grieve really loudly at your Uncle Ray's funeral. "Ooh, Ray (うれ)! OOoh, Ray why did you have to leave me!" It's really sad. You even hear it in your head after you've left and gone home. You've never seen someone start to be distressed like that in public.

Context

Context Sentences

親が子供の将来を憂えるのは当然のことだ。

It’s natural for parents to be anxious about their children’s’ futures.

Kanji Composition