腫はれる

は

れ

る

Common wordJLPTN2Freq.FrequencyTop 50,000

Meanings

1

ichidan verb, intransitive verb

swell; become swollen

Intransitive verb for body parts swelling due to inflammation, injury, or fluid retention. Often used with が to mark the swollen part.

虫むしに刺さされて、腕うでが腫はれた。
My arm swelled up after being bitten by a bug.
泣なきすぎて目めが腫はれてしまった。
I cried so much that my eyes became swollen.

Written forms

腫はれるUsage72%
Standard kanji spelling for swelling, especially from inflammation or injury.
はれるUsage28%
脹はれる
rarely-used kanji form
Rarely used kanji form; 腫れる is strongly preferred in modern Japanese.

Kanji

腫tumor, swelling
脹dilate, distend, bulge

Similar words

膨ふくれる
膨れる is a more general intransitive verb for swelling or bulging, not limited to inflammation. It can also describe abstract things like a budget or a person's mood.
腫はらす
腫らす is the transitive counterpart, meaning to cause swelling (e.g., 顔を腫らす). 腫れる is intransitive.

Etymology

The kanji 腫 is a phono-semantic compound with 月 (flesh) and 重 (heavy, pile up), suggesting a piled-up or swollen condition of the body. The reading はれる is native Japanese.