暴れる

あばれる

to act violently, to rage

JLPT N2

Character Breakdown

Meaning and Usage

The verb 暴れる (あばれる) primarily means "to act violently" or "to rage." It is often used to describe people or animals behaving wildly or uncontrollably, such as children throwing tantrums or drunk people causing trouble. It can also describe natural forces like storms or seas that are turbulent and violent.

Common Contexts

  • Describing someone physically struggling or causing a disturbance.
  • Expressing wild or uncontrollable behavior.
  • Describing natural phenomena like storms or rough seas.

Collocations and Patterns

  • 暴れる子供 (あばれるこども): a child acting wildly
  • 酔っ払って暴れる (よっぱらってあばれる): to rage when drunk
  • 海が暴れる (うみがあばれる): the sea raging

Register and Nuance

暴れる is informal to neutral and can be used in everyday conversation. It often implies a negative or troublesome behavior, so it is not typically used for calm or controlled actions. When describing natural phenomena, it conveys a sense of violent movement.

Common Mistakes

Learners sometimes confuse 暴れる with 怒る (おこる, to get angry). While both can involve strong emotions, 暴れる emphasizes physical or violent action, whereas 怒る focuses on the emotional state of anger without necessarily acting out physically.

Example Sentences

こどもがみせのなかであばれて、しょうひんをこわしてしまった。

The child acted violently inside the store and broke the merchandise.

よっぱらってあばれるのはやめてください。

Please stop raging when you're drunk.

あらしのうみがあばれてふねがゆれた。

The stormy sea raged and the ship rocked.