心が折れる

• 読み: こころがおれる
• ローマ字: kokoro ga oreru
• 漢字の分解: 心 (kokoro) — heart, spirit; 折 (o-) — break, snap; れる — passive/potential suffix
• 発音: /ko.ko.ɾo.ɡa.o.ɾe.ɾɯ/

意味

To lose heart; to be broken; to give up. Describes the moment when one's willpower or emotional resilience finally snaps under the weight of repeated failure or hardship.

A widely used set expression in modern Japanese describing the sudden collapse of one's motivation and resilience. Unlike simply feeling sad, 心が折れる marks a definitive breaking point — the moment a person stops trying. The expression gained enormous currency in contemporary usage around sport, workplace stress, and mental health discussions. The opposite is 心が折れない (unbreakable spirit).

例文

1. 何度も失敗が続いて、ついに心が折れそうになった。
2. 上司の厳しい批判に、新人は心が折れてしまった。
3. どんな逆境でも心が折れないことが、成功の秘訣だ。

使い方ガイド

場面: sports, workplace, personal resilience

トーン: empathetic

起源と歴史

A native Japanese metaphorical expression combining 心 (kokoro — heart, spirit) and 折れる (oreru — to break, to snap). The image of the heart as a physical object that can fracture under pressure is deeply resonant and widely understood across all generations.

文化的背景

時代: Modern

世代: All ages

社会的背景: Universal