誤る

Ultimately from Old Japanese. First attested in the Nihon Shoki of 720 CE.^[1]

This was originally just the intransitive counterpart to transitive verb ayamatsu (spelled either 過つ or 誤つ).^[2] Both may derive from classical verb ayamu (spelled either 怪む or 危む), itself derived from stem aya related to ideas of danger, as in terms 危うい (ayaui, “risky, dangerous”), 怪しい (ayashii, “questionable, dubious; clumsy, awkward; foreboding (in a bad way); mysterious, bewitching”).

• (Tokyo) あやまる (Nakadaka – )^[3]
• IPA^(key):

誤(あやま)る • (ayamaru) intransitive godan (stem 誤(あやま)り (ayamari), past 誤(あやま)った (ayamatta))

1. to make a mistake, to err

   誤(あやま)るのが人間(にんげん)である。

   Ayamaru no ga ningen de aru.

   To err is human

2. to become in a bad mood, to become troubled or despondent
3. to be unreasonable or irregular

誤(あやま)る • (ayamaru) transitive godan (stem 誤(あやま)り (ayamari), past 誤(あやま)った (ayamatta))

1. to mistake one thing for another
2. to choose in the wrong direction

   身(み)を誤(あやま)る

   mi o ayamaru

   to mistake one's self → to go astray, to go bad

3. to deceive someone, to lead astray

   人(ひと)を誤(あやま)る、人(ひと)を誤(あやま)る言動(げんどう)

   hito o ayamaru, hito o ayamaru gendō

   to lead someone astray, words and actions that lead someone astray

4. to take something through deception, to deceive someone of something

   人(ひと)の金(かね)をあやまり

   hito no kane o ayamari

   deceiving people of their money

5. to break a promise, to break one's word

   契(ちぎ)れること誤(あやま)れる人(ひと)に

   chigireru koto ayamareru hito ni

   to a person who could break what they would promise