別(わか)れ惜(お)しい

わかれおしい
i-adjective
reluctant to part; sad to say goodbye
emotion
Conjugation
AffirmativeNegative
Present別(わか)れ惜(お)しい別(わか)れ惜(お)しくない
Past別(わか)れ惜(お)しかった別(わか)れ惜(お)しくなかった
て form別(わか)れ惜(お)しくて別(わか)れ惜(お)しくなくて
Adverbial別(わか)れ惜(お)しく—
Conditional ば別(わか)れ惜(お)しければ別(わか)れ惜(お)しくなければ
Conditional たら別(わか)れ惜(お)しかったら別(わか)れ惜(お)しくなかったら
1. reluctant to part; sad to say goodbye; hating to leave
Describes the feeling of not wanting to separate from someone or leave a place because the time together has been so pleasant or meaningful.
別(わか)れ惜(お)しい気持(きも)ちでいっぱいだった。
I was full of reluctance to say goodbye.
楽(たの)しい時間(じかん)はあっという間(ま)で、別(わか)れ惜(お)しかった。
The fun time flew by, and I was sad to part.
留学先(りゅうがくさき)の友人(ゆうじん)たちとの別(わか)れが惜(お)しくて、空港(くうこう)で涙(なみだ)が出(で)た。
I was so reluctant to part from my friends from my time studying abroad that tears came at the airport.

A compound adjective formed from 別(わか)れ (parting) + 惜(お)しい (regrettable, reluctant to lose). Expresses the bittersweet feeling of not wanting a pleasant time or relationship to end.

Forms

  • 別(わか)れ惜(お)しい: predicate (parting is sad)
  • 別(わか)れ惜(お)しそうに: in a way that shows reluctance to part
  • 別(わか)れが惜(お)しい: separated form with the same meaning

Common collocations

Similar words

  • 名残(なごり)惜(お)しい: reluctant to part — very similar but slightly more literary; can also apply to leaving a place or ending an experience
  • 寂(さび)しい: lonely, sad — broader emotion of loneliness, not specifically tied to parting
  • 切(せつ)ない: painfully tender — a deeper, more wrenching emotional pain

Related Words

Compare: 名残惜(なごりお)しい (reluctant to part)
Compare: 寂(さび)しい (lonely, sad)
Compare: 切(せつ)ない (painfully tender)
general
Added 2026.4.3 4:20 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:02
21500/21640_wakareoshii