How to say "meditate" in Japanese

• 考えるかんがえるJLPT N4approx.Common
  ichidan verb, transitive verbCovers the ordinary sense of meditating on or pondering something, i.e. thinking it over carefully. It is the common, default word, so use it unless you specifically mean intense, devoted mental concentration.
  あなたは家族かぞくの事ことを考かんがえるべきです。↗

  You must think of your family.
• 凝らすこごらすJLPT N1approx.
  godan verb, transitive verbMatches meditate as concentrating one's attention on something and devoting oneself to it. It is a less common word and is really about intense, absorbed mental effort, so it is seldom the word you want for casual pondering.

For 'meditate' in the sense of thinking something over or pondering, 「考える」 is the everyday word; 「凝らす」 suits deep, concentrated mental effort and is the less common choice.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

• 考えるかんがえるto think (about, of)
• 凝らすこごらすto concentrate one's attention on