Connect 疲 with tiredness in everyday speech and the more formal word for fatigue.

The idea

疲 has 10 strokes. Follow the linked diagram. 疲れる（つかれる） means to get tired; 疲れている describes the resulting tired state. 疲労（ひろう） is a noun meaning fatigue.

Patterns to compare
Japanese wordReadingExample in context
疲れるつかれるI got tired after walking for a long time.
疲れているつかれているI am tired today.
疲労ひろうFatigue has built up from work.

Examples

  • 今日きょうは疲つかれています。I am tired today.
  • 長ながい時間じかん歩あるいて、疲つかれました。I got tired after walking for a long time.
  • 疲つかれたら、休やすんでください。When you are tired, please take a break.
  • 画面がめんを見みて、目めが疲つかれました。My eyes are tired from looking at the screen.
  • 仕事しごとで疲労ひろうがたまりました。Fatigue has built up from work.
  • よく眠ねむって、疲労ひろうが軽かるくなりました。A good night’s sleep relieved my fatigue.

Read-aloud uses a synthetic Japanese voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.

Watch out

疲れる is a verb, not an adjective: say 疲れています for “I am tired”, not 疲れです. 疲労 is a noun and often appears with がたまる.

Try it yourself

  1. Write the reading of 疲れる in hiragana.

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    つかれる

    疲れる is つかれる, including the kana れる. It describes becoming tired.

  2. Write the reading of 疲労 in hiragana.

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    ひろう

    疲労 is ひろう; 疲 has the reading ひ in this compound. It means fatigue.

  3. Choose the missing kanji: ＿労（ひろう）［疲／病］.

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    疲

    疲 completes 疲労（ひろう）, the noun for fatigue; 病 means illness.

Use it today

Write 疲 using the stroke diagram, then cover the table and read 疲れる and 疲労. Make a sentence about taking a rest.