ばれる
Japanese
Etymology
Ultimate derivation unclear. Appears from the late 1600s.[1]
Analyzable as the regular mediopassive / intransitive form of root verb ばる (baru),[1][2][3] from which ばらす (barasu) derives as the regular causative / transitive. Compare similar verb paradigms with root verb 明く (aku), causative / transitive 明かす (akasu), mediopassive / intransitive 明ける (akeru), Old Japanese 出づ (idu) and modern causative / transitive 出す (dasu), mediopassive / intransitive 出る (deru), Old Japanese 生ゆ (hayu) and modern 生やす (hayasu) and 生える (haeru).
Cognate with ばらす (barasu, “to find something out; to mess something up, to put something in disarray”), ばらばら (barabara, “all messed up, in complete disarray”, adjective, adverb). The term ばらばら (barabara) actually appears earliest in texts, starting from the late 1500s, followed by ばれる (bareru) in the late 1600s and ばらす (barasu) in the early 1700s.[1] This suggests the possibility that the adjective / adverb came first, with the verbs then deriving from that.
Possibly related to adjective あばら (abara).
Verb
ばれる or バレる • (bareru) intransitive ichidan (stem ばれ (bare), past ばれた (bareta))
| Japanese verb pair | |
|---|---|
| active | ばらす |
| mediopassive | ばれる |
- to become in disarray, to become disorganized
- to break down, to be broken off, such as talks or negotiations
- Synonym: 破断する (hadan suru)
- to fail at something
- Synonyms: しくじる (shikujiru), 失敗する (shippai suru)
- to lose a card game
- Synonym: (to lose at something) 負ける (makeru)
- to be found out, to be discovered
- Synonym: 発覚する (hakkaku suru)
- (by extension) to rain, to become inclement weather
- (from a particular poetic convention during the Edo period) to tell an indecent or off-color story
- Synonym: しもがかる (shimogakaru)
Usage notes
- The passive form is inappropriate and is not used.
Conjugation
| Stem forms | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Imperfective (未然形) | ばれ | bare | ||
| Continuative (連用形) | ばれ | bare | ||
| Terminal (終止形) | ばれる | bareru | ||
| Attributive (連体形) | ばれる | bareru | ||
| Hypothetical (仮定形) | ばれれ | barere | ||
| Imperative (命令形) | ばれよ¹ ばれろ² | bareyo¹ barero² | ||
| Key constructions | ||||
| Passive | ばれられる | barerareru | ||
| Causative | ばれさせる ばれさす | baresaseru baresasu | ||
| Potential | ばれられる ばれれる³ | barerareru barereru³ | ||
| Volitional | ばれよう | bareyō | ||
| Negative | ばれない ばれぬ ばれん | barenai barenu baren | ||
| Negative continuative | ばれず | barezu | ||
| Formal | ばれます | baremasu | ||
| Perfective | ばれた | bareta | ||
| Conjunctive | ばれて | barete | ||
| Hypothetical conditional | ばれれば | barereba | ||
| ¹ Written imperative ² Spoken imperative ³ Colloquial potential | ||||
Related terms
- ばらす (barasu): (transitive) to expose a secret; to mess something up, to put something in complete disarray
References
- 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
- 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
- 1995, 大辞泉 (Daijisen) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN