1.
dead leaves; dry leaves; fallen leaves
Leaves that have dried up and fallen from trees or plants, especially in autumn and winter. A common seasonal image in literature and everyday language.
枯れ葉が舞っている。
Dead leaves are swirling in the air.
道に枯れ葉がたくさん落ちていた。
There were lots of dead leaves on the road.
庭の枯れ葉を集めて焚き火をした。
I gathered the dead leaves in the yard and made a bonfire.
An evocative seasonal word strongly associated with late autumn and winter. In Japanese poetry and literature, 枯れ葉 conveys transience, loneliness, and the passing of time. In everyday use, it simply refers to dried, fallen leaves.
FORMATION:
枯れ (withered, dried) + 葉 (leaf)
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 枯れ葉が舞う: dead leaves dance in the wind
- 枯れ葉を踏む: to step on dry leaves
- 枯れ葉を集める: to gather fallen leaves
- 枯れ葉の山: a pile of dead leaves
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 落ち葉: fallen leaves — emphasizes the act of having fallen; broader and includes fresh leaves that have just dropped
- 紅葉: autumn leaves — focuses on colorful leaves still on trees or freshly fallen, with a positive aesthetic nuance
- 落葉: leaf fall, defoliation — more formal/botanical term for the process of leaves falling