ばれる

See also: はれる

Japanese

Etymology

Ultimate derivation unclear. Appears from the late 1600s.^[1]

Analyzable as the regular mediopassive / intransitive form of root verb ばる (baru),^[1]^[2]^[3] from which ばらす (barasu) derives as the regular causative / transitive. Compare similar verb paradigms with root verb 明く (aku), causative / transitive 明かす (akasu), mediopassive / intransitive 明ける (akeru), Old Japanese 出づ (idu) and modern causative / transitive 出す (dasu), mediopassive / intransitive 出る (deru), Old Japanese 生ゆ (hayu) and modern 生やす (hayasu) and 生える (haeru).

Cognate with ばらす (barasu, “to find something out; to mess something up, to put something in disarray”), ばらばら (barabara, “all messed up, in complete disarray”, adjective, adverb). The term ばらばら (barabara) actually appears earliest in texts, starting from the late 1500s, followed by ばれる (bareru) in the late 1600s and ばらす (barasu) in the early 1700s.^[1] This suggests the possibility that the adjective / adverb came first, with the verbs then deriving from that.

Possibly related to adjective あばら (abara).

Pronunciation

(Tokyo) ばれる [bàréꜜrù] (Nakadaka – [2])^[4]
IPA^(key): [ba̠ɾe̞ɾɯ̟]

(Kyoto) ばれる [bàrèrú] (Teiki – [0])^[4]

Verb

ばれる or バレる • (bareru) intransitive ichidan (stem ばれ (bare), past ばれた (bareta))

Japanese verb pair
active	ばらす
mediopassive	ばれる

to become in disarray, to become disorganized
to break down, to be broken off, such as talks or negotiations
Synonym: 破断する (hadan suru)
to fail at something
Synonyms: しくじる (shikujiru), 失敗する (shippai suru)
to lose a card game
Synonym: (to lose at something) 負ける (makeru)
to be found out, to be discovered
Synonym: 発覚する (hakkaku suru)
(by extension) to rain, to become inclement weather
(from a particular poetic convention during the Edo period) to tell an indecent or off-color story
Synonym: しもがかる (shimogakaru)

Usage notes

The passive form is inappropriate and is not used.

Conjugation

Conjugation of "ばれる" (See Appendix:Japanese verbs.)

Katsuyōkei ("stem forms")
Mizenkei ("imperfective")	ばれ	bare
Ren’yōkei ("continuative")	ばれ	bare
Shūshikei ("terminal")	ばれる	bareru
Rentaikei ("attributive")	ばれる	bareru
Kateikei ("hypothetical")	ばれれ	barere
Meireikei ("imperative")	ばれよ¹ ばれろ²	bareyo¹ barero²
Key constructions
Passive	ばれられる	barerareru
Causative	ばれさせるばれさす	baresaseru baresasu
Potential	ばれられるばれれる³	barerareru barereru³
Volitional	ばれよう	bareyō
Negative	ばれないばれぬばれん	barenai barenu baren
Negative continuative	ばれず	barezu
Formal	ばれます	baremasu
Perfective	ばれた	bareta
Conjunctive	ばれて	barete
Hypothetical conditional	ばれれば	barereba
¹ Written imperative ² Spoken imperative ³ Colloquial potential

Related terms

ばらす (barasu): (transitive) to expose a secret; to mess something up, to put something in complete disarray

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
^ Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
^ Matsumura, Akira (1995) 大辞泉 [Daijisen] (in Japanese), First edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, →ISBN
↑ ^4.0 ^4.1 “ば・れる ”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎^[1] (in Japanese), 2nd edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2000-2002, released online 2007, →ISBN, concise edition entry available here

[KDJ-1] 1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN

[DJR-2] Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

[DJS-3] Matsumura, Akira (1995) 大辞泉 [Daijisen] (in Japanese), First edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, →ISBN

[NKD2O-4] 4.0 ^4.1 “ば・れる ”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎^[1] (in Japanese), 2nd edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2000-2002, released online 2007, →ISBN, concise edition entry available here

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