喘(あえ)ぐ

あえぐ
verb (godan, intransitive)
to gasp; to pant; to struggle
自動詞 intransitiveactionhealth
Conjugation
AffirmativeNegative
Present喘(あえ)ぐ喘(あえ)がない
Present polite喘(あえ)ぎます喘(あえ)ぎません
Past喘(あえ)いだ喘(あえ)がなかった
Past polite喘(あえ)ぎました喘(あえ)ぎませんでした
て form喘(あえ)いで喘(あえ)がなくて
ている present喘(あえ)いでいる喘(あえ)いでいない
ている polite喘(あえ)いでいます喘(あえ)いでいません
ている past喘(あえ)いでいた喘(あえ)いでいなかった
ている past polite喘(あえ)いでいました喘(あえ)いでいませんでした
Conditional ば喘(あえ)げば喘(あえ)がなければ
Conditional たら喘(あえ)いだら喘(あえ)がなかったら
Volitional喘(あえ)ごう—
Volitional polite喘(あえ)ぎましょう—
Potential喘(あえ)げる喘(あえ)げない
Passive喘(あえ)がれる喘(あえ)がれない
Causative喘(あえ)がせる喘(あえ)がせない
Imperative喘(あえ)げ喘(あえ)ぐな
1. to gasp; to pant; to breathe hard
To breathe with difficulty, as from physical exertion, pain, or illness.
I'm panting from climbing the hill.
In the intense heat, the athletes kept running while gasping for breath.
高熱(こうねつ)で苦(くる)しそうに喘(あえ)いでいた。
She was gasping in distress from a high fever.
2. to struggle; to suffer under hardship
To be in a state of difficulty or distress, struggling under the weight of problems such as poverty, debt, or oppression. A figurative extension of the physical gasping sense.
The number of companies struggling under the recession is increasing.
I want to escape a life of struggling under debt.
The voices of medical workplaces struggling with staff shortages are not being heard.

Usage

喘(あえ)ぐ is a godan verb. In sense 2, the pattern ~に喘(あえ)ぐ (to struggle under ~) is very common in news and formal writing.

Common collocations

Similar words

はあはあする is an onomatopoeic expression for panting, more casual and physical. 息切(いきぎ)れする means "to become out of breath." 苦(くる)しむ means "to suffer" and is broader in meaning than the figurative sense of 喘(あえ)ぐ.