荒む

• 読み: すさむ
• ローマ字: susamu
• 漢字の分解: 荒 (su/ara) — wild, desolate, rough
• 発音: /sɯ.sa.mɯ/

意味

To become rough; to become desolate; to deteriorate. To grow wild, coarse, or morally degraded over time.

A Group 1 (godan) verb. 荒む describes a gradual deterioration — of a place (庭が荒む — the garden becomes overgrown), a person's heart (心が荒む — one's heart grows rough, bitter), or social conditions (世の中が荒む — society coarsens). The kanji 荒 means 'wild, desolate, rough' and the verb captures slow, progressive decay. It often carries a melancholic nuance, implying neglect or suffering rather than violent destruction.

例文

1. 長年住む人のいなかった家屋は荒み、庭は雑草に覆われていた。
2. 仕事の失敗が続き、心が荒んで何事にも意欲を持てなくなっていった。
3. 戦後の混乱の中で若者の心が荒んでいくのを、老人たちは深く憂えた。

使い方ガイド

場面: mental health, social commentary, nature, neglect, literature

トーン: melancholic, literary

起源と歴史

From the adjective 荒い (arai — rough, wild) combined with the verb-forming suffix -む. 荒む shares its root with 荒れる (areru — to become wild, stormy), but 荒む emphasises a slow inward deterioration of condition or character rather than a sudden outburst.

文化的背景

時代: Traditional-Modern

世代: All ages

社会的背景: Universal