ichidan verb, transitive verb
fear; be afraid of
General verb for fearing something or being afraid. Can be used for both concrete threats and abstract anxieties.
彼は死を恐れている。
He fears death.
失敗を恐れてはいけない。
You must not be afraid of failure.
Standard kanji spelling for 'to fear'.
Alternate kanji spelling, also common.
Rarely used kanji form, often with a nuance of awe or reverence.
Rarely used kanji form.
Search-only kanji form.
Derived from the adjective 恐い (こわい, 'scary') with the verbalizing suffix る, though the exact historical derivation is uncertain.