猶予う

Japanese

Kanji in this term
猶	予

Etymology 1

Read as いさよう (isayou) in the Nara Period, alternating with いざよう (izayou) in the Heian Period, and settling on いざよう (izayou) thereafter.

Derived as a compound from いさ (isa, “interjection of hesitation or introduction; compare to English so, which may be used as a hesitation word or to introduce a new topic”) + suffix element よふ.

The origin of the latter portion remains unclear. May be よ (yo, “particle indicating origin or means”) + ふ (fu, “auxiliary verb indicating repetition or ongoing state, spelled and pronounced as う, u in modern Japanese”). Alternately, may be 酔う (you, “to be intoxicated or unsteady; formerly spelled よふ, yofu in hiragana”).

The kanji are examples of ateji.

Verb

猶予う (intransitive, godan conjugation, hiragana いざよう, romaji izayou, historical hiragana いざよふ)

1. To pause, to hesitate.

Conjugation

Conjugation of "猶予う" (See Appendix:Japanese verbs.)

Stem forms	Imperfective (未然形)	猶予わ	いざよわ	izayowa
	Continuative (連用形)	猶予い	いざよい	izayoi
	Terminal (終止形)	猶予う	いざよう	izayou
	Attributive (連体形)	猶予う	いざよう	izayou
	Hypothetical (仮定形)	猶予え	いざよえ	izayoe
	Imperative (命令形)	猶予え	いざよえ	izayoe
Key constructions	Passive	猶予われる	いざよわれる	izayowareru
	Causative	猶予わせる 猶予わす	いざよわせる いざよわす	izayowaseru izayowasu
	Potential	猶予える	いざよえる	izayoeru
	Volitional	猶予おう	いざよおう	izayoō
	Negative	猶予わない	いざよわない	izayowanai
	Negative continuative	猶予わず	いざよわず	izayowazu
	Formal	猶予います	いざよいます	izayoimasu
	Perfective	猶予った	いざよった	izayotta
	Conjunctive	猶予って	いざよって	izayotte
	Hypothetical conditional	猶予えば	いざよえば	izayoeba

See also

• 誘う (いさよう, isayou): to tempt, to invite: also derived from interjection いさ (isa).

Etymology 2

Derived from the noun たゆた (tayuta, “undecidedness, unsettledness”) + auxiliary verb ふ (fu, “indicating repetition or ongoing state, spelled and pronounced as う, u in modern Japanese”).

The kanji are examples of ateji.

Verb

猶予う (intransitive, godan conjugation, hiragana たゆたう, romaji tayutau, historical hiragana たゆたふ)

1. To bob, to move about uncertainly as a floating item moves about on the surface of water or some other liquid.
2. To be undecided or uncertain.
3. To pause or hesitate due to indecision; to dally, to dawdle.

Usage notes

This reading is more commonly spelled 揺蕩う.

Conjugation

Conjugation of "猶予う" (See Appendix:Japanese verbs.)

Stem forms	Imperfective (未然形)	猶予わ	たゆたわ	tayutawa
	Continuative (連用形)	猶予い	たゆたい	tayutai
	Terminal (終止形)	猶予う	たゆたう	tayutau
	Attributive (連体形)	猶予う	たゆたう	tayutau
	Hypothetical (仮定形)	猶予え	たゆたえ	tayutae
	Imperative (命令形)	猶予え	たゆたえ	tayutae
Key constructions	Passive	猶予われる	たゆたわれる	tayutawareru
	Causative	猶予わせる 猶予わす	たゆたわせる たゆたわす	tayutawaseru tayutawasu
	Potential	猶予える	たゆたえる	tayutaeru
	Volitional	猶予おう	たゆたおう	tayutaō
	Negative	猶予わない	たゆたわない	tayutawanai
	Negative continuative	猶予わず	たゆたわず	tayutawazu
	Formal	猶予います	たゆたいます	tayutaimasu
	Perfective	猶予った	たゆたった	tayutatta
	Conjunctive	猶予って	たゆたって	tayutatte
	Hypothetical conditional	猶予えば	たゆたえば	tayutaeba

Synonyms

• (floating): 漂う (ただよう, tadayou)
• (hesitate): 躊躇する (ちゅうちょする, chūcho suru), 躊躇う (ためらう, tamerau)