生える
Meaning in Englishto grow, to spring up; to cut (teeth)
Animated kanji stroke order
Word context
What it means
What does 生える mean? It means to grow or sprout, especially of plants and hair, or to appear or emerge in a visible form.
Main meanings
- to sprout or grow from a surface or ground, such as shoots, grass, or mushrooms
- to grow hair, fur, or other body hair
- to appear or emerge suddenly as a phenomenon or feature
- to spring up or develop, often used metaphorically for things that begin to exist or become noticeable
How to use it
Common in both casual conversation and formal writing; attaches to a subject marked by が or は in Japanese sentences and is typically intransitive, describing natural growth or appearance rather than deliberate action; typical collocations include 草が生える and 髪が生える, among others.
Variants and close terms
- 伸びる nobiru — to grow longer or extend
- 芽生える mebaeru — to bud or germinate
- 出る deru — to come out or appear
Composition
- 生: life, birth, growth; in this verb it conveys emergence or coming into existence
Etymology
生 is the native kanji root representing life or growth; haeru uses the kun-reading attached to 生 to express emergence or growth, a pattern preserved across historical Japanese without foreign loanword influence.
Origin
In pre-modern Japanese, 生える appears as a natural, everyday verb used across classical and later texts to describe the emergence and growth of living things. Its usage spans flora, hair, and phenomena that visibly come into being, reflecting a long-standing conceptual linkage between life and growth.
Word class
verb (godan)