English–Japanese
“hesitate” in Japanese
Japanese
Pronunciation
Romajitamerau
Example
知らない人に話しかけるのをためらいます。shi ra na i hito ni hana shi ka ke ru no o ta me ra i ma su
I hesitate to talk to strangers.
How to say “hesitate” in Japanese
“Hesitate” in Japanese is ためらう (tamerau).
Describes pausing before an action because the decision or willingness to act is not yet settled.
Example sentences with ためらう
彼女は会議で自分の意見を言うのをためらいました。kano jo wa kai gi de ji bun no i ken o i u no o ta me ra i ma shi ta
She hesitated to share her opinion in the meeting.
Tips for using ためらう
- In English, hesitate commonly takes to plus a verb, as in hesitate to speak, while Japanese places a noun phrase before ためらう (tamerau).