怒る focuses on feeling or expressing anger; 叱る focuses on correcting someone’s behavior.
The idea
Use 人に怒る for being angry with someone and ことに怒る for anger about something. Use 人を叱る when reprimanding a person for a fault; 人に叱られる means being reprimanded by them.
| Form | Pattern |
|---|---|
| 怒る | 人に／事に怒る |
| 叱る | 人を叱る |
| 叱られる | 人に叱られる |
Examples
- 友達が約束を破ったので、怒りました。I got angry because my friend broke a promise.
- 先生は廊下を走った子どもを叱りました。The teacher reprimanded the child for running in the hallway.
- 母は私に怒りました。My mother was angry with me.
- 父はうそをついた私を叱りました。My father reprimanded me for lying.
- 彼女は不公平な決定に怒りました。She was angry about the unfair decision.
- 遅刻して、先生に叱られました。I was reprimanded by my teacher for being late.
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Watch out
A reprimand can be angry, but 叱る does not itself guarantee a calm or constructive approach. 怒る can also describe showing anger, not just an inner feeling.
Try it yourself
約束を破られて、＿＿。（怒りました／叱りました）
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怒りました
怒りました describes the speaker’s anger at a broken promise.
先生は走った子どもを＿＿。（怒りました／叱りました）
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叱りました
叱りました describes the teacher reprimanding a child for running.
先生＿＿叱られました。（に／を）
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に
に marks the person who reprimanded the speaker in the passive 叱られました.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Japanese sentences where available. We keep your score.
約束を破られて、＿＿。（怒りました／叱りました）
先生は走った子どもを＿＿。（怒りました／叱りました）
先生＿＿叱られました。（に／を）
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
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Describe a situation that made you angry and one in which someone was reprimanded.