持てる
Japanese
| Kanji in this term |
|---|
| 持 |
| も Grade: 3 |
| kun'yomi |
| Alternative spelling |
|---|
| モテる |
Etymology
From the regular potential conjugation of verb 持つ (motsu, “to have, to possess; to have on hand, to hold”).[1][2][3][4] The popular sense arose as a slight shift in meaning from "able to have" to something like "able to get (particularly, positive attention)".
First attested in the popular sense in a text from 1753.[1]
Pronunciation
- Tokyo pitch accent of conjugated forms of 持てる
| Plain | 持てる | もてる | [mòtéꜜrù] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conjunctive | 持てて | もてて | [móꜜtètè] |
| Perfective | 持てた | もてた | [móꜜtètà] |
| Negative | 持てない | もてない | [mòtéꜜnàì] |
| Negative perfective | 持てなかった | もてなかった | [mòtéꜜnàkàttà] |
| Hypothetical conditional | 持てれば | もてれば | [mòtéꜜrèbà] |
| Past conditional | 持てたら | もてたら | [móꜜtètàrà] |
| Imperative | 持てろ 持てよ |
もてろ もてよ |
[mòtéꜜrò] [mòtéꜜyò] |
| Volitional | 持てよう | もてよー | [mòtéyóꜜò] |
| Desiderative | 持てたい | もてたい | [mòtétáꜜì] |
| Formal | 持てます | もてます | [mòtémáꜜsù] |
| Formal negative | 持てません | もてません | [mòtémáséꜜǹ] |
| Formal volitional | 持てましょう | もてましょー | [mòtémáshóꜜò] |
| Formal perfective | 持てました | もてました | [mòtémáꜜshìtà] |
| Continuative | 持て 持てに |
もて もてに |
[móꜜtè] [móꜜtè nì] |
| Negative continuative | 持てず 持てずに |
もてず もてずに |
[mòtéꜜzù] [mòtéꜜzù nì] |
| Passive | 持てられる | もてられる | [mòtéráréꜜrù] |
| Causative | 持てさせる 持てさす |
もてさせる もてさす |
[mòtésáséꜜrù] [mòtésáꜜsù] |
| Potential | 持てられる 持てれる |
もてられる もてれる |
[mòtéráréꜜrù] [mòtéréꜜrù] |
Verb
持てる or 持てる • (moteru) intransitive ichidan (stem 持て (mote), past 持てた (moteta))
- [from 1753] (colloquial) to be popular, to be well-liked by people (e.g. to be popular among women)
- 山田君ってさ、同じ学年の女子には人気ないけど、下級生にはモテるんだよね。
- Yamada-kun tte sa, onaji gakunen no joshi ni wa ninki nai kedo, kakyūsei ni wa moteru n da yo ne.
- Yamada isn't very popular with the girls in his school year, but he's popular amongst the younger students.
- 山田君ってさ、同じ学年の女子には人気ないけど、下級生にはモテるんだよね。
- [from 1600s] potential form of 持つ (motsu) [godan]: to be able to have or hold
- [from 1600s] to withstand, to endure
Usage notes
The popular sense may be encountered more commonly with the spelling モテる instead.
Conjugation
| Katsuyōkei ("stem forms") | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Mizenkei ("imperfective") | 持て | もて | mote |
| Ren’yōkei ("continuative") | 持て | もて | mote |
| Shūshikei ("terminal") | 持てる | もてる | moteru |
| Rentaikei ("attributive") | 持てる | もてる | moteru |
| Kateikei ("hypothetical") | 持てれ | もてれ | motere |
| Meireikei ("imperative") | 持てよ¹ 持てろ² |
もてよ¹ もてろ² |
moteyo¹ motero² |
| Key constructions | |||
| Passive | 持てられる | もてられる | moterareru |
| Causative | 持てさせる 持てさす |
もてさせる もてさす |
motesaseru motesasu |
| Potential | 持てられる 持てれる³ |
もてられる もてれる³ |
moterareru motereru³ |
| Volitional | 持てよう | もてよう | moteyō |
| Negative | 持てない 持てぬ 持てん |
もてない もてぬ もてん |
motenai motenu moten |
| Negative continuative | 持てず | もてず | motezu |
| Formal | 持てます | もてます | motemasu |
| Perfective | 持てた | もてた | moteta |
| Conjunctive | 持てて | もてて | motete |
| Hypothetical conditional | 持てれば | もてれば | motereba |
¹ Written imperative
² Spoken imperative
³ Colloquial potential
Derived terms
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 “持”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten][1] (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2006
- ^ “持てる”, in デジタル大辞泉 [Digital Daijisen][2] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, updated roughly every four months
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1997), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
- “持てる”, in 漢字ぺディア [Kanjipedia][3] (in Japanese), The Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation, 2015–2026