Meaning and Usage
"汚れる" (よごれる) means "to become dirty" or "to get soiled." It is an intransitive verb used when something or someone becomes physically or metaphorically dirty without an external agent explicitly causing it.
Common Contexts
This verb is often used for clothes, hands, or places that get physically dirty. It can also be used metaphorically to describe moral or emotional impurity, such as a "dirty heart" or "corrupted mind."
Collocations and Patterns
- 服が汚れる (ふくがよごれる): clothes get dirty
- 手が汚れる (てがよごれる): hands get dirty
- 心が汚れる (こころがよごれる): heart/mind becomes morally impure
- ～で汚れる: to get dirty with something (e.g., 泥で汚れる - get dirty with mud)
Register and Nuance
"汚れる" is a neutral, commonly used verb appropriate in everyday conversation and writing. When used metaphorically, it often implies a negative moral judgment.
Common Mistakes
Learners sometimes confuse "汚れる" (intransitive) with "汚す" (よごす), which is the transitive form meaning "to make dirty." Remember that "汚れる" describes the state of becoming dirty by itself, while "汚す" requires a subject causing the dirtiness.