冴える
さえる
to be clear (of a sight, sound, colour, etc.); to be bright; to be vivid; to be crisp
JLPT N1 Common word
Meanings
Ichidan verb, Intransitive
to be clear (of a sight, sound, colour, etc.); to be bright; to be vivid; to be crisp- to be clear-headed; to be alert; to be on the ball; to be wide awake
- to look upbeat; to be perky; to be cheerful
- to master (a skill); to excel at; to cleanly execute
- to be satisfying
All 6 meanings
- to become frigid; to become intensely cold
Forms
| Plain | Polite | |
|---|---|---|
| Present | 冴えるさえる | 冴えますさえます |
| Negative | 冴えないさえない | 冴えませんさえません |
| Past | 冴えたさえた | 冴えましたさえました |
| Past negative | 冴えなかったさえなかった | 冴えませんでしたさえませんでした |
| Te-form | 冴えてさえて |
|---|---|
| Potential | 冴えられるさえられる |
| Passive | 冴えられるさえられる |
| Causative | 冴えさせるさえさせる |
| Volitional | 冴えようさえよう |
| Imperative | 冴えろさえろ |
| Conditional (ば) | 冴えればさえれば |
| Conditional (たら) | 冴えたらさえたら |
Example sentences
私って冴えてる！
I'm smart.
-
I feel smart today, to a degree that is in proportion to the amount of good rest I had yesterday.
-
For some reason, I'm wide awake and can't fall asleep.
-
It's already 3 a.m., but I'm wide awake and couldn't fall asleep if I tried.
-
A full moon is shining bright in the sky.