考える

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Japanese

Kanji in this term
考
かんが
Grade: 2
kun'yomi
Alternative spelling
勘える (less common)

Etymology

*/kamukapu/ → /kamuɡapu/ → /kanɡafu/ → /kanɡaferu/ (regular change for lower bigrade verbs) → */kangaweru/ (semi-regular sound shift for the /f/ phoneme: ハ行転呼 (ha-gyō tenko)) → /kanɡajeru/ (semi-regular sound shift, collapsing /we/ into /je/) → /kanɡaeru/

From Old Japanese. First cited to the Nihon Shoki of 720.[1]

Ultimate derivation uncertain. Theories include:

  • Given the ancient kamugapu spelling, may be ka + mukau, where the ka is an unidentified prefixing element, or possibly 処 (ka), cognate with the こ (ko) in location determiners like ここ (koko, “here”), どこ (doko, “where”), and the mukau is 向かう (mukau, “to face something, to face a direction”, pronounced as mukapu in ancient times), from the sense of facing a thing or issue to thoroughly inspect it and think it over.[2] The shift from mukapu to mugapu may be an example of assimilation and lenition, where the preceding /m/ softens the following /k/.
  • Alternatively, may be derived from the on'yomi of kan for the character 勘 (kan, “intuition, perception”, prior to the development of the kana ん, this would have been spelled as kamu),[2] plus some unknown element that was probably originally kapu, changing to gapu due to rendaku. The semantically relevant verbs with ancient readings of kapu, such as 変える (kaeru, “to change”) all have to do with ideas of changing or turning, suggesting a possible original meaning of to change one's perception. In addition, there are also obsolete readings of かうがふ (kaugafu) and かがふ (kagafu), giving further support for this etymology.

Pronunciation

  • Tokyo pitch accent of conjugated forms of 「考える」
Source: Online Japanese Accent Dictionary
Stem forms
Terminal (終止形)
Attributive (連体形) 		考える かんがえる
かんがえる
Imperative (命令形) 考えろ かんがえろ
かんがえろ
Key constructions
Passive 考えられる かんがえられる
Causative 考えさせる かんがえさせる
Potential 考えられる かんがえられる
Volitional 考えよう かんがえよー
Negative 考えない かんがえない
Negative perfective 考えなかった かんがえなかった
Formal 考えます かんがえます
Perfective 考えた かんがえた
Conjunctive 考えて かんがえて
Hypothetical conditional 考えれば かんがえれば
かんがえれば

Verb

考(かんが)える • (kangaeru) ←かんがへる (kangaferu)?transitive ichidan (stem 考(かんが)え (kangae), past 考(かんが)えた (kangaeta))

  1. think
    これについて考(かんが)える必(ひつ)要(よう)があるんだ。
    Kore ni tsuite kangaeru hitsuyō ga aru n da.
    I need to think about this.
  2. meditate
  3. consider
    ここに住(す)む人(ひと)のことも考(かんが)えて、引(ひ)っ越(こ)しの時(とき)は綺(き)麗(れい)に掃(そう)除(じ)をする。
    Koko ni sumu hito no koto mo kangaete, hikkoshi no toki wa kirei ni sōji o suru.
    Out of consideration for the people who will live here next, I will clean thoroughly when I move.
  4. reflect
    私(わたし)がしたことについて考(かんが)えなければならない。
    Watashi ga shita koto ni tsuite kangaenakereba naranai.
    I must reflect on what I have done.
  5. prepare
    停(てい)電(でん)の時(とき)のことも考(かんが)えてある。
    Teiden no toki no koto mo kangaete aru.
    I am prepared for electric power failures.
  6. make up one's mind
  7. expect
    考(かんが)えられないような失(しっ)敗(ぱい)が起(お)きた。
    Kangaerarenai yō na shippai ga okita.
    A failure that I had not expected has happened.
  8. imagine
    死(し)んだ後(あと)のことは誰(だれ)にも考(かんが)えられない。
    Shinda ato no koto wa dare ni mo kangaerarenai.
    It cannot be imagined what will happen after death.
  9. contrive

Usage notes

While both 考える (kangaeru) and 思う (omou) can be used to mean to think, kangaeru implies more analytic and objective thought, whereas omou may include more emotional and subjective overtones.

Conjugation

Conjugation of "考える" (See Appendix:Japanese verbs.)
Katsuyōkei ("stem forms")
Mizenkei ("imperfective") 考え かんがえ kangae
Ren’yōkei ("continuative") 考え かんがえ kangae
Shūshikei ("terminal") 考える かんがえる kangaeru
Rentaikei ("attributive") 考える かんがえる kangaeru
Kateikei ("hypothetical") 考えれ かんがえれ kangaere
Meireikei ("imperative") 考えよ¹
考えろ² 		かんがえよ¹
かんがえろ² 		kangaeyo¹
kangaero²
Key constructions
Passive 考えられる かんがえられる kangaerareru
Causative 考えさせる
考えさす 		かんがえさせる
かんがえさす 		kangaesaseru
kangaesasu
Potential 考えられる
考えれる³ 		かんがえられる
かんがえれる³ 		kangaerareru
kangaereru³
Volitional 考えよう かんがえよう kangaeyō
Negative 考えない
考えぬ
考えん 		かんがえない
かんがえぬ
かんがえん 		kangaenai
kangaenu
kangaen
Negative continuative 考えず かんがえず kangaezu
Formal 考えます かんがえます kangaemasu
Perfective 考えた かんがえた kangaeta
Conjunctive 考えて かんがえて kangaete
Hypothetical conditional 考えれば かんがえれば kangaereba
¹ Written imperative
² Spoken imperative
³ Colloquial potential

Synonyms

Derived terms

References

  1. ^ “考・勘”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎ (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2006
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1997), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  • 2002, Ineko Kondō; Fumi Takano; Mary E Althaus; et. al., Shogakukan Progressive Japanese-English Dictionary, Third Edition, Tokyo: Shōgakukan, →ISBN.

Further reading

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