哀(あわ)れむ

あわれむ
verb (godan)
to pity; to feel sorry for
他動詞 transitiveemotion
See also: 憐(あわ)れむ (to pity (憐))
Conjugation
AffirmativeNegative
Present哀(あわ)れむ哀(あわ)れまない
Present polite哀(あわ)れみます哀(あわ)れみません
Past哀(あわ)れんだ哀(あわ)れまなかった
Past polite哀(あわ)れみました哀(あわ)れみませんでした
て form哀(あわ)れんで哀(あわ)れまなくて
ている present哀(あわ)れんでいる哀(あわ)れんでいない
ている polite哀(あわ)れんでいます哀(あわ)れんでいません
ている past哀(あわ)れんでいた哀(あわ)れんでいなかった
ている past polite哀(あわ)れんでいました哀(あわ)れんでいませんでした
Conditional ば哀(あわ)れめば哀(あわ)れまなければ
Conditional たら哀(あわ)れんだら哀(あわ)れまなかったら
Volitional哀(あわ)れもう—
Volitional polite哀(あわ)れみましょう—
Potential哀(あわ)れめる哀(あわ)れめない
Passive哀(あわ)れまれる哀(あわ)れまれない
Causative哀(あわ)れませる哀(あわ)れませない
Imperative哀(あわ)れめ哀(あわ)れむな
1. to pity, to feel sorry for
To feel compassion or sympathy for someone in a difficult or unfortunate situation.
彼(かれ)を哀(あわ)れむ。
To pity him.
I felt sorry for the stray cat and brought it home.
Compassion is important, but I want to be careful not to come across as condescending.
2. to find something moving, to feel pathos
To be emotionally moved by the beauty or sadness of something, with a sense of poignancy.
To find pathos in the autumn scenery.
The feeling of being moved by falling blossoms connects to the Japanese sense of beauty.
The lyrics of the old song are imbued with a feeling of pathos for the transience of life.

Usage

Sense 1 (pity) is the most common modern usage. Sense 2 (feel pathos) is more literary and connected to the classical aesthetic of もののあわれ (mono no aware).

Godan verb (五段動詞(ごだんどうし)), む-ending.

  • Negative: 哀(あわ)れまない
  • Polite: 哀(あわ)れみます
  • Te-form: 哀(あわ)れんで
  • Past: 哀(あわ)れんだ

Common collocations