祈る・祷る・禱る|いのるinoru[2]nakadaka (mid-high)
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Which spelling to use
祈る祈る（いのる） is the most common written form and the form beginners should normally use. It is written with kanji and kana.
祷る祷る（いのる） is a rarely used kanji-and-kana variant of 祈る（いのる）; learners will seldom encounter it and generally need not choose it.
禱る禱る（いのる） is a rarely used kanji-and-kana variant of 祈る（いのる）; learners will seldom encounter it and generally need not choose it.
Definitions
- godan verb, transitive verbto pray; to say a prayer; to say grace
- godan verb, transitive verbto wish; to hope
Conjugation
| Dictionary form | 祈る（いのる） |
|---|---|
| Polite (masu) | 祈ります（いのります） |
| Negative (nai) | 祈らない（いのらない） |
| polite (masen) | 祈りません（いのりません） |
| classical zu / nu | 祈らず・祈らぬ（いのらず・いのらぬ） |
| Past (ta) | 祈った（いのった） |
| polite (mashita) | 祈りました（いのりました） |
| Past negative (nakatta) | 祈らなかった（いのらなかった） |
| polite (masen deshita) | 祈りませんでした（いのりませんでした） |
| Te form | 祈って（いのって） |
| Potential | 祈れる（いのれる） |
| Passive | 祈られる（いのられる） |
| Causative | 祈らせる（いのらせる） |
| Causative passive | 祈らせられる・祈らされる（いのらせられる・いのらされる） |
| Conditional (ba) | 祈れば（いのれば） |
| tara | 祈ったら（いのったら） |
| Volitional | 祈ろう（いのろう） |
| polite (mashou) | 祈りましょう（いのりましょう） |
| Imperative | 祈れ（いのれ） |
Common forms generated by rule; see the senses for honorific or irregular usage.
Synonyms & antonyms
- Synonym念じるねんじるWrittenWritten/formal prose. Praying silently in one's heart, as in 「無事を念じる」, or silently reciting the Buddha's name or sutras; stresses a strong inner wish.
- Synonym祈念きねんWrittenWritten/formal prose. Praying for a wish to come true, as in 「平和を祈念する」 or 「ご健康を祈念します」; heard mostly in formal speeches and greetings.
- Synonym祈願きがんWrittenWritten/formal prose. Praying to the gods or Buddha that something be granted, as in 「合格祈願」; typical of shrine and temple prayer activities.
- Synonym祈祷きとうWrittenWritten/formal prose. The act of praying to gods or Buddha—private prayer, saying grace before meals, or exorcism rites such as 「加持祈祷」.
- Synonym念ずるねんずるWrittenWritten/formal prose. An alternative form of 「念じる」 with the same sense—silent prayer or chanting sutras in one's mind—but sounding more literary.
- Related願うねがうNeutralNeutral. Hoping or asking for something, as in 「平和を願う」; not necessarily addressed to gods, more everyday than 「祈る」, and can mean requesting a favor.
- Related称名しょうみょうWrittenWritten/formal prose. A Buddhist term for intoning the Buddha's name, as in 「南無阿弥陀仏」; it covers only the chanting, not wishing broadly like 「祈る」.
- Related希うこいねがうWrittenWritten/formal prose, literary and old-fashioned. Earnestly longing for or beseeching something, as in 「平和を希う」; more urgent than 「祈る」 and rare in daily use.
- Related立願りつがんWrittenWritten/formal prose. Making a vow or wish before the gods; very rare today—in everyday speech 「願をかける」 or 「祈る」 does the job.
- Antonym呪うのろうNeutralNeutral. The opposite of 「祈る」: praying that misfortune befall someone, i.e. cursing them; can also mean detesting a person or thing intensely.
For praying, 「祈る」 is the default. For everyday hopes and requests use 「願う」; for prayers at a shrine or temple, 「祈願」; in formal speeches and greetings, 「祈念」; for silent prayer, 「念じる」. To curse someone, say 「呪う」.
Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only
Japanese definitions
Kanji in this word
English equivalents
