別れ惜しい
わかれおしい
i-adjective
reluctant to part; sad to say goodbye
Conjugation
| Affirmative | Negative | |
|---|---|---|
| Present | 別れ惜しい | 別れ惜しくない |
| Past | 別れ惜しかった | 別れ惜しくなかった |
| て form | 別れ惜しくて | 別れ惜しくなくて |
| Adverbial | 別れ惜しく | — |
| Conditional ば | 別れ惜しければ | 別れ惜しくなければ |
| Conditional たら | 別れ惜しかったら | 別れ惜しくなかったら |
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.
別れ惜しい気持ちでいっぱいだった。
I was full of reluctance to say goodbye.
楽しい時間はあっという間で、別れ惜しかった。
The fun time flew by, and I was sad to part.
留学先の友人たちとの別れが惜しくて、空港で涙が出た。
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 別れ (parting) + 惜しい (regrettable, reluctant to lose). Expresses the bittersweet feeling of not wanting a pleasant time or relationship to end.
FORMS:
- 別れ惜しい: predicate (parting is sad)
- 別れ惜しそうに: in a way that shows reluctance to part
- 別れが惜しい: separated form with the same meaning
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 別れ惜しい気持ち: feelings of reluctance to part
- 別れ惜しそうに手を振る: to wave reluctantly in farewell
- 名残惜しい: a near-synonym meaning reluctant to part (more literary)
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 名残惜しい: reluctant to part — very similar but slightly more literary; can also apply to leaving a place or ending an experience
- 寂しい: lonely, sad — broader emotion of loneliness, not specifically tied to parting
- 切ない: painfully tender — a deeper, more wrenching emotional pain