疲れる vs だるい
Japanese word comparison
Listen to 疲れる
Listen to だるい
| 疲れる | だるい |
|---|---|
tsu-ka-RE-ru verb (ru-verb/intransitive) | darui verb (ru-verb/intransitive) |
| to become tired; to get fatigued (physically or mentally) | to feel sluggish, heavy, or listless (a subjective bodily sensation) |
How they differ
だるい is an -i adjective describing a subjective sensation of heaviness or malaise rather than a verb expressing 'becoming tired'; it often implies low energy or sickness and cannot replace 疲れる grammatically without changing sentence structure.
When to use each
When to use 疲れる: Use 疲れる when you want to say you became tired or exhausted as the result of activity.
When to use だるい: Use だるい when describing a bodily symptom of sluggishness or malaise (e.g., after illness or poor sleep) or when you need an adjective describing current condition.
Side-by-side examples
- 昨日遅くまで働いて疲れた。
(I worked late yesterday and got tired.) - 昨日遅くまで働いて今日は体がだるい。
(I worked late yesterday and today my body feels sluggish.)
Register & nuance: Informal; だるい is common in everyday speech but in formal situations you would use terms like 倦怠感がある or 疲労感がある.