1.
to sigh, to heave a sigh
To let out a deep breath expressing weariness, disappointment, relief, or admiration. The most natural and common way to express sighing in Japanese.
深いため息をついた。
She let out a deep sigh.
試験の結果を見て、思わずため息をついた。
I couldn't help but sigh when I saw the exam results.
彼女は仕事の山を見て、ため息をつきながら椅子に座った。
She looked at the mountain of work and sat down in her chair with a sigh.
A common expression composed of ため息 (a sigh) and つく (to emit, to let out). ため息 can also be written as 溜め息 with kanji, but the hiragana spelling is more common. The verb つく here means "to emit" or "to give," the same つく used in 嘘をつく (to tell a lie).
USAGE:
The sigh can be modified with adjectives: 深いため息 (a deep sigh), 大きなため息 (a big sigh), 小さなため息 (a small sigh). The expression ため息が出る (a sigh comes out) is also common and suggests the sigh is involuntary.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 深いため息をつく: to heave a deep sigh
- 大きなため息: a big sigh
- 思わずため息をつく: to sigh involuntarily
- ため息が出る: a sigh escapes one
- ため息交じりに: with a sigh mixed in
SIMILAR WORDS:
- ため息が出る: a sigh escapes — more involuntary; the sigh just comes out
- 息を吐く: to exhale — neutral, physical breathing action without emotional connotation
- うんざりする: to be fed up — describes the feeling that often accompanies sighing, but without the physical action