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甘え amae
Sweetly leaning on someone close.
What does amae mean?
Letting yourself be spoiled by a person you trust, and expecting them to allow it. Adorable in kids and couples; at work, telling someone 甘えるな means grow up.
Example
妹は親に甘えるのが上手だ。
My little sister is very good at getting our parents to spoil her.
Vibe
Who you can say this to, and how it lands.
Safe to use Fine in ordinary conversation.
The story behind amae
The verb amaeru shares a root with amai, sweet, and that is the whole flavour of it: sweetening yourself against someone who has silently agreed to let you. A toddler flopping onto a parent. A partner who will absolutely not carry their own umbrella. It takes two people, and it only works because the other side plays along.
A famous Japanese psychology book from the early 1970s argued that this single word explains an enormous amount about the society, and the claim was debated worldwide for decades. Day to day the register is simpler and sharper. Amaeru is adorable in a child, and amaeru na, said flatly at work, means grow up.
Get amae in your pocket
甘え is one of 308 words in YABAI, a Japanese culture snack for Android. Every word comes with its meaning, an example sentence, a vibe check and a story like the one above — in 13 languages, read aloud by your device. Paid app: no ads, no sign-up, no subscription.
