慕う|したうshitau[0]heiban (flat)

1. godan verb, transitive verbto yearn for; to long for; to pine for; to miss; to love dearly; to adore
   少女しょうじょは叔母おばをとても慕したっている。↗

   The girl is deeply attached to her aunt.
2. godan verb, transitive verbto follow (someone)
3. godan verb, transitive verbto idolize (for virtue, learning, status, etc.)

• Synonym憧れるあこがれるNeutralYearning, as in 「都会に憧れる」; leans toward wanting to become or get something, with things as objects, while 「慕う」 leans toward attachment and admiration for people.
• Synonym憧憬どうけいWrittenWritten register: longing and aspiration; the noun form, more literary than 「憧れる」.
• Synonym恋するこいするNeutralTo fall in love or be in love, as in 「恋する乙女」; centers on romantic love.
• Synonym恋い慕うこいしたうWrittenWritten register: deep longing and love — for a sweetheart, one's mother, or one's hometown. Unlike 「慕う」, it does not cover admiring and following someone.
• Synonym恋うこうWrittenWritten, archaic word for loving and longing for someone; rare in modern Japanese, found mainly in waka poetry.
• Synonym恋しがるこいしがるNeutralTo show that one misses someone or something, as in 「故郷を恋しがる」; leans toward missing people or things that are absent.
• Synonym恋慕れんぼWrittenWritten register: love and attachment, as in 「恋慕の情」; leans toward romantic love between a man and a woman.
• Related仰ぐあおぐWrittenWritten register: to look up to and revere, as in 「師と仰ぐ」; leans toward honoring someone as one's model or guide.
• Related敬ううやまうNeutralTo respect one's elders or the gods, as in 「老人を敬う」; centers on respectful treatment and lacks the attachment of 「慕う」.
• Related愛するあいするNeutralTo love, as in 「家族を愛する」; covers a much broader range. 「慕う」 leans toward admiring and following a person.
• Related愛すあいすWrittenWritten register: the godan form of 「愛する」; rarely used in modern Japanese.
• RelatedいとおしむWrittenWritten register: to cherish and hold dear, as in 「我が子を愛おしむ」; leans toward tender, doting affection.
• Related惚れ込むほれこむCasualColloquial: to be deeply captivated, as in 「人柄に惚れ込む」; leans toward being won over by someone's charm.
• Related慈しむいつくしむWrittenWritten register: to love and care for tenderly, as in 「子を慈しむ」; leans toward a senior's affection for someone junior, like a parent for a child.
• Related愛しがるいとしがるNeutralTo dote on and cherish; few examples in use, and typically directed at those who are small or weak.
• RelatedいとしむNeutralTo regret or be reluctant to part with, as in 「別れを惜しむ」; centers on reluctance to let go and carries no nuance of admiration.
• RelatedいとおしがるNeutralTo treasure and feel tenderness toward; few examples in use, and leans toward gentle, affectionate feeling.
• Antonym嫌うきらうNeutralTo dislike; the opposite of the loving attachment of 「慕う」.
• Antonym憎むにくむNeutralTo hate and detest, as in 「敵を憎む」; the opposite of 「慕う」.

Use 「慕う」 for attachment, longing, or admiring devotion toward a person, as in 「母を慕う」「先輩を慕う」. For yearning toward things, use 「憧れる」; for romantic love, 「恋する」; for respect, 「敬う」. The opposites are 「嫌う」 and 「憎む」.

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

1. 恋こいしく思おもう。
2. その人ひとのそばに居いたいと思おもい、後あとを追おう。
3. その人ひとの学問がくもんや人徳じんとくを尊敬そんけいし、従したがおうとする。