恐(おそ)れ

おそれ
noun
fear; anxiety; risk
emotion
See also: 恐(おそ)れる (verb form), 恐(おそ)ろしい (adjective form)
1. fear; dread; fright
A feeling of being afraid of something.
失敗(しっぱい)への恐(おそ)れがある。
I have a fear of failure.
恐(おそ)れを克服(こくふく)する。
To overcome one's fears.
知(し)らない人(ひと)に話(はな)しかけるのに恐(おそ)れを感(かん)じる。
I feel fear about talking to strangers.
2. risk; possibility (of something bad)
The possibility that something undesirable might happen.
地震(じしん)の恐(おそ)れがある。
There's a risk of an earthquake.
台風(たいふう)で停電(ていでん)の恐(おそ)れがある。
There's a risk of power outages from the typhoon.
明日(あした)は大雪(おおゆき)の恐(おそ)れがあるため、外出(がいしゅつ)を控(ひか)えてください。
There is a risk of heavy snow tomorrow, so please refrain from going out.

恐(おそ)れ has two main uses: emotional fear (sense 1) and the risk/possibility of something bad (sense 2). Sense 2 is especially common in news and weather reports.

Common patterns

Common expressions

恐(おそ)れ入(い)りますが is a very polite set phrase meaning "excuse me, but..." or "I'm sorry to trouble you, but..." It is unrelated to fear.

Related words

Related Words

Synonym: 恐怖(きょうふ) (fear, terror (stronger))
Related: 不安(ふあん) (anxiety (milder))
Related: 恐(おそ)る (to fear, to be afraid)
Compare: 畏怖(いふ) (awe, dread, reverence)
Compare: 危険性(きけんせい) (riskiness)
Compare: 恐怖感(きょうふかん) (feeling of fear)
general
Added 2026.1.16 14:48 · Revised 2026.10.11 3:34
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