Japanese

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Etymology 1

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Alternative spellings

彼れ

From older kareare. Compound of (a, that, yon) +‎ (-re, nominalizing suffix for demonstratives).

Pronunciation

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Pronoun

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あれ (are

  1. distal demonstrative, something far off removed from both speaker and listener: that, yon
    Synonym: (dialectal, Kagoshima) あい
    1. (deictically) that one over there (far from the speaker and the addressee)
      あれはなんですか?
      Are wa nan desu ka?
      What is that?
    2. (anaphorically) that one we both know (both the speaker and the addressee know)
      これあれでしょ?○○。
      Kore wa are desho?○○.
      This is that one thing, isn't it? You know, X.
  2. (chiefly derogatory) third-person personal pronoun: he, she, that person
  3. you-know-what; a thing whose name the speaker does not want to mention
    1. sex
    2. cockroach
  4. (archaic) second-person pronoun: you
Usage notes
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  • Indicates something far off, removed from both speaker and addressee. Contrast with それ (sore), indicating something removed from the speaker but closer to the addressee.
See also
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Adjective

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あれ or アレ (are-na (adnominal あれ (are na), adverbial あれ (are ni))

  1. あれ, アレ: (informal, euphemistic) "you know what I mean"
    ちょっとあれ(ひと)
    chotto are na hito
    someone who's kind of you-know-what-I-mean

Inflection

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Etymology 2

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Pronunciation

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Interjection

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あれ (are

  1. huh? (expression of surprise and confusion when talking to yourself)
    あれない
    Are? Nai.
    Huh? It's not here.
    あれもしかして……
    Are? Moshikashite……
    Huh? Could it be?
Derived terms
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Descendants
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  • Chinese:
    Mandarin: 啊咧
See also
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Etymology 3

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For pronunciation and definitions of あれ – see the following entry.
荒れ
[noun] stormy weather, tempest; chaps (of skin)
(This term, あれ (are), is the hiragana spelling of the above term.)
For a list of all kanji read as あれ, see Category:Japanese kanji read as あれ.)

Etymology 4

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Alternative spellings

The long form of (a, I, me). From (a) +‎ (-re, nominalizing suffix)

Fell into disuse in roughly the Heian period,[1] when it was replaced by われ (ware).

Pronunciation

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(Can we verify(+) this pronunciation?)

Pronoun

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あれ (are

  1. (obsolete) first-person personal pronoun: I, me

Etymology 5

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Alternative spellings
有れ
在れ

Pronunciation

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Verb

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あれ (areあれ (are)?

  1. (Classical Japanese, literary) imperative of あり (ari, to exist); (modern language) imperative of ある (aru, to exist)
    (ひかり)あれ
    hikari are
    let there be light
    ()()(たい)あれ
    kou go-kitai are
    (modern language, formal) please stay tuned
    (ため)あれ
    o-tameshi are
    (modern language, formal) please try it out
    (らん)あれ
    go-ran are
    please look
Usage notes
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  • Although it remains grammatically correct in modern language, there are few, if any, situations in which it is used, outside of stock formal phrases inherited from the classical language.
Derived terms
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References

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  1. 1.0 1.1 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN