JLPT N2 · Verb

可愛がる (kawaigaru)

可愛がる (かわいがる, kawaigaru) is a Japanese verb meaning “to be affectionate to; to treat tenderly”. It appears in JLPT N2 vocabulary lists and is marked as a common word in JMdict.

Reading
かわいがる
Romaji
kawaigaru
Word class
Godan verb (う-verb) ending in る
Level
JLPT N2 (unofficial)

Meaning

  1. to be affectionate to; to treat tenderly; to dote on; to show one's love (for); to cherish · godan verb, transitive
  2. to show favouritism to; to be partial to · godan verb, transitive
  3. to fondle; to caress; to pet · godan verb, transitive
  4. to be tough on; to be rough with; to torment; to train harshly · godan verb, transitive · colloquial · used ironically; often as 可愛がってやる

Example sentences

ケンは1人息子なので、父親は一層可愛がった。
Ken's father loved Ken all the more because he was his only son.

Sentences from the Tatoeba project, linked to this word in JMdict.

Conjugation of 可愛がる

Godan verb (う-verb) ending in る. Plain and polite forms below; try any other word in the Japanese verb conjugator.

FormJapaneseReading
Dictionary可愛がるかわいがる kawaigaru
Polite (~masu)可愛がりますかわいがります kawaigarimasu
Negative可愛がらないかわいがらない kawaigaranai
Polite negative可愛がりませんかわいがりません kawaigarimasen
Past可愛がったかわいがった kawaigatta
Polite past可愛がりましたかわいがりました kawaigarimashita
Negative past可愛がらなかったかわいがらなかった kawaigaranakatta
Te-form可愛がってかわいがって kawaigatte
Potential可愛がれるかわいがれる kawaigareru
Passive可愛がられるかわいがられる kawaigarareru
Causative可愛がらせるかわいがらせる kawaigaraseru
Volitional可愛がろうかわいがろう kawaigarou
Imperative可愛がれかわいがれ kawaigare
Conditional (~ba)可愛がればかわいがれば kawaigareba

Kanji in 可愛がる

Related words

Other vocabulary sharing a kanji with 可愛がる.

Source: JMdict entry 1190730 (EDRDG, CC BY-SA 4.0). Level: unofficial JLPT list – how levels are assigned.