思い浮かべる|おもいうかべるomoiukaberu[6]nakadaka (mid-high)
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Definitions
- ichidan verb, transitive verbto remember; to recall; to call to mind
- ichidan verb, transitive verbto imagine; to picture in one's mind; to visualize
Conjugation
| Dictionary form | 思い浮かべる（おもいうかべる） |
|---|---|
| Polite (masu) | 思い浮かべます（おもいうかべます） |
| Negative (nai) | 思い浮かべない（おもいうかべない） |
| polite (masen) | 思い浮かべません（おもいうかべません） |
| classical zu / nu | 思い浮かべず・思い浮かべぬ（おもいうかべず・おもいうかべぬ） |
| Past (ta) | 思い浮かべた（おもいうかべた） |
| polite (mashita) | 思い浮かべました（おもいうかべました） |
| Past negative (nakatta) | 思い浮かべなかった（おもいうかべなかった） |
| polite (masen deshita) | 思い浮かべませんでした（おもいうかべませんでした） |
| Te form | 思い浮かべて（おもいうかべて） |
| Potential | 思い浮かべられる（おもいうかべられる） |
| Passive | 思い浮かべられる（おもいうかべられる） |
| Causative | 思い浮かべさせる（おもいうかべさせる） |
| Causative passive | 思い浮かべさせられる（おもいうかべさせられる） |
| Conditional (ba) | 思い浮かべれば（おもいうかべれば） |
| tara | 思い浮かべたら（おもいうかべたら） |
| Volitional | 思い浮かべよう（おもいうかべよう） |
| polite (mashou) | 思い浮かべましょう（おもいうかべましょう） |
| Imperative | 思い浮かべろ（おもいうかべろ） |
Common forms generated by rule; see the senses for honorific or irregular usage.
Synonyms & antonyms
- Synonym思い出すおもいだすNeutralThe everyday word for recalling something from the past, forgotten or not; far more common in speech than 「思い浮かべる」, which stresses picturing a scene in your mind.
- Synonym思い起こすおもいおこすNeutralTo call up memories deliberately; more written in tone than 「思い出す」, with the emphasis on consciously dwelling on the past.
- Synonym想起そうきWrittenWritten, academic term for recollection or memory retrieval; found mostly in psychology and medical case histories, not everyday speech.
- Synonym思い返すおもいかえすNeutralTo think something over again, or to change one's mind; stresses mulling the past over repeatedly rather than picturing it.
- Related思い当たるおもいあたるNeutralTo suddenly hit on a clue or explanation, often one concerning yourself; a flash of realization, not deliberate visualization.
- Related回想かいそうWrittenWritten word for looking back on past experience, as in 「回想録」 (memoirs); traces your own history rather than picturing a scene.
- RelatedしのぶWrittenTo remember someone or something fondly and with deep feeling, as in 「故人を偲ぶ」; literary, for cherishing people and times gone by.
- Related回顧かいこWrittenFormal word for reviewing history or the past with an eye to taking stock of it, as in 「回顧展」 (retrospective exhibition).
- Related追憶ついおくWrittenLiterary word for reminiscing about bygone days, tinged with nostalgia and a touch of sadness.
- Related思いつくおもいつくNeutralFor ideas popping into your head — hitting on something new; it does not mean picturing a scene in your mind.
- Related追懐ついかいWrittenLike 「追憶」 but rarer and more classical in flavour; a written word for fond remembrance that you will seldom come across.
- Antonym忘れるわすれるNeutralThe opposite: to forget, letting something slip from the mind instead of calling it up.
Use 「思い浮かべる」 to picture something in your mind or imagine a scene, as in 「顔を思い浮かべる」. For recalling the past, 「思い出す」 is the everyday default; 「思いつく」 is for ideas that suddenly come to you. 「偲ぶ」 is for fondly remembering someone; the written terms (回想, 回顧, 追憶) belong to formal prose, and 「忘れる」 is the opposite.
Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only
Japanese definitions
- 心の中に描く。
Kanji in this word
English equivalents
