What does “tsukareta” mean in Japanese?
Native speakers say “tsukareta” to mean ‘tired’ or ‘I’m tired’ in Japanese. Perhaps, some Japanese learners know this phrase well because it is often used in Japanese movies, manga, anime, and the like. In this blog post, however, I will explain this phrase in detail based on its grammatical components. And also, I will explain how to use it through example sentences. My explanations would help Japanese learners to understand “tsukareta” more clearly. Then, let’s get started!
Contents
Definition and meaning of “tsukareta”
Let me start with the definition and meaning of “tsukareta”.
- tsukareta – 疲れた (つかれた) : a Japanese phrase meaning ‘tired’.
The definition and meaning are very simple and clear, I think. It’s worth mentioning, however, that Japanese sentences, especially in speaking, tend to lack words referring to the speaker and the listeners, so just saying “tsukareta” can mean ‘I’m tired’ or ‘you are tired’ or such in Japanese.
To understand this phrase more clearly, let me explain its grammatical components in detail, one by one.
Breakdown of “tsukareta”
“Tsukareta” consists of the following two components:
- tsukare – 疲れ (つかれ) : one conjugation of the verb, “tsukareru”, which means ‘to get tired’ in Japanese.
- ta – た : an auxiliary verb used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its past tense form. Probably, this is well known as a part of Japanese ta form. In the phrase, this is used after “tsukare” to make its past tense form, “tsukare ta”, which literally means ‘to have gotten tired’ in Japanese.
From these two components, we can understand that “tsukareta” is the past tense form of “tsukareru” and literally means ‘to have gotten tired’ in Japanese. So, grammatically, the phrase focuses more on the process of getting tired (kind of an inceptive verb) rather than a state of being tired. Actually, Japanese has another expression, “tsukareteiru”, which is more suitable for a state of being tired. When we want to refer to a continuous state of being tired, therefore, we should say “tsukareteiru”. “Tsukareta” is sufficient and sounds natural enough, however, when we want to express a state of being tired which has been caused by an event not so long ago.
When we meet new Japanese phrases, we should check their components in detail to understand their meanings clearly and deeply. In many cases, components tell us a lot about meanings of phrases they form. Actually, here, we could get the better understanding of “tsukareta” through the detailed check above.
Then, let me explain how to use “tsukareta” through the example sentences below.
Example #1: how to say “I’m tired” in Japanese
kyou watashi wa shigoto de tsukareta – 今日私は仕事で疲れた (きょうわたしはしごとでつかれた)
I’m tired from work today.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- kyou – 今日 (きょう) : a noun meaning ‘today’ in Japanese. This can also work as an adverb. In the example, this works as an adverb to say “today” at the beginning of the sentence.
- watashi – 私 (わたし) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese.
- wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this works after “watashi” to make the subject in the sentence.
- shigoto – 仕事 (しごと) : a noun meaning ‘work’ in Japanese.
- de – で : a case particle used to refer to a cause or reason of something. In the example, this is used after “shigoto” to indicate what makes “watashi” tired.
This is a typical usage of “tsukareta”. In this example, it works to refer to the state of being tired which has been caused by the work on that day. So, its usage is very similar to that of the English expression, “I’m tired”, I think.
Example #2: another usage of “tsukareta”
gamen no hikari de me ga tsukareta – 画面の光で目が疲れた (がめんのひかりでめがつかれた)
My eyes are tired from the screen light.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- gamen – 画面 (がめん) : a noun meaning ‘screen’. This can also work as plural. Learn more about Japanese plural.
- no – の : a case particle used to join two nouns. Normally, the first one can work as a modifier to describe the second. In the example, this is used to join “gamen” and “hikari”. The formed phrase literally means ‘screen light’ in Japanese.
- hikari – 光 (ひかり) : a noun meaning ‘light’ in Japanese.
- me – 目 (め) : a noun meaning ‘eye’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural.
- ga – が : a case particle used to make the subject word or the object word in a sentence. In the example, this is used after “me” to make the subject in the sentence.
This is another typical usage of “tsukareta”. When we want to say “tired” in Japanese, it is a very, very good option.
Summary
In this blog post, I’ve explained the definition and meaning of “tsukareta” in detail based on its grammatical components. And also, I’ve explained how to use it through the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.
- tsukareta – 疲れた (つかれた) : a Japanese phrase meaning ‘tired’. This is the past tense form of “tsukareru” and literally means ‘to have gotten tired’ in Japanese. So, grammatically, this focuses more on the process of getting tired (kind of an inceptive verb) rather than a state of being tired. This is sufficient and sounds natural enough, however, when we want to express a state of being tired which has been caused by an event not so long ago.
Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.
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