誤る・謬る|あやまるayamaru[3]nakadaka (mid-high)
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Which spelling to use
誤る誤る is the most common written form of this word and the recommended choice for beginners using it in writing.
謬る謬る is a less common written form of this word; beginners should use 誤る instead.
Definitions
- godan verb, transitive verbto make a mistake (in); to commit an error; to do incorrectly; to err
- godan verb, intransitive verbto be wrong; to be incorrect; to be false; to be mistakenas 誤った or 誤っている
- godan verb, transitive verbto mislead; to misguide; to lead astray
Conjugation
| Dictionary form | 誤る（あやまる） |
|---|---|
| Polite (masu) | 誤ります（あやまります） |
| Negative (nai) | 誤らない（あやまらない） |
| polite (masen) | 誤りません（あやまりません） |
| classical zu / nu | 誤らず・誤らぬ（あやまらず・あやまらぬ） |
| Past (ta) | 誤った（あやまった） |
| polite (mashita) | 誤りました（あやまりました） |
| Past negative (nakatta) | 誤らなかった（あやまらなかった） |
| polite (masen deshita) | 誤りませんでした（あやまりませんでした） |
| Te form | 誤って（あやまって） |
| Potential | 誤れる（あやまれる） |
| Passive | 誤られる（あやまられる） |
| Causative | 誤らせる（あやまらせる） |
| Causative passive | 誤らせられる・誤らされる（あやまらせられる・あやまらされる） |
| Conditional (ba) | 誤れば（あやまれば） |
| tara | 誤ったら（あやまったら） |
| Volitional | 誤ろう（あやまろう） |
| polite (mashou) | 誤りましょう（あやまりましょう） |
| Imperative | 誤れ（あやまれ） |
Common forms generated by rule; see the senses for honorific or irregular usage.
Synonyms & antonyms
- Synonym間違えるまちがえるNeutralNeutral and the everyday default for getting something wrong or mixing things up; unlike 「誤る」, which leans written and stresses errors of judgment or direction.
- Synonym間違うまちがうCasualColloquial; covers being wrong or mistaking one thing for another, as in 「答えが間違っている」 or 「道を間違う」. Works both transitively and intransitively.
- Synonym過つあやまつWrittenWritten and old-fashioned; to commit a fault or error — the verb behind 「過ちを犯す」. Rare in everyday speech.
- Related失敗しっぱいNeutralNeutral noun for failure, the everyday default; it stresses the result of something not going well rather than the act of erring.
- Related失策しっさくWrittenWritten noun for a blunder or misstep, as in 「政府の失策」; in baseball it also means a fielding error.
- RelatedしくじるCasualColloquial and common in speech; to botch or fail at something, and by extension to be fired for a failure.
- RelatedしそこなうCasualColloquial; to fail to do something properly, botch it, or miss a chance — it stresses failing at the task itself.
- Related仕損じるしそんじるNeutralNeutral; to botch or fumble a job, as in the proverb 「急いては事を仕損じる」.
- Related仕損ずるしそんずるWrittenWritten; a variant form of 「仕損じる」 with the same meaning, rarely used in modern Japanese.
- Related遣り損なうやりそこなうCasualColloquial; to botch or fail at something, and can also mean missing the chance to do it.
- RelatedしくるCasualSlang, mainly among young people; to screw up or get something wrong — more casual than 「しくじる」.
- RelatedとちるCasualColloquial; to flub one's lines or slip up in a fluster — used mostly of actors.
- Related遣り損じるやりそんじるCasualColloquial but less common; to botch or bungle doing something.
- Antonym正確せいかくNeutralNeutral antonym: accurate and free of error — the direct opposite of 「誤る」.
Use 「誤る」 for errors of judgment or direction, as in 「判断を誤る」 or 「道を誤る」; it leans written. For everyday mistakes use 「間違える」; for being wrong, 「間違う」. For failing at a task, 「失敗」 is the neutral default and 「しくじる」 the casual choice; 「し損なう」 and 「遣り損なう」 stress botching a job or missing a chance, 「とちる」 is for flubbed lines, 「失策」 a written blunder, and 「正確」 is the antonym for accuracy.
Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only
Japanese definitions
Kanji in this word
English equivalents
See also
