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I'm finding several instances of 憧れる translate as "I wish I were like"; for
example, in the first episode of 干物妹！うまるちゃん a character says to the main
character 私 憧れちゃうよ, which is translated as "I wish I were like you".

On [Jisho](https://jisho.org/search/%E6%86%A7%E3%82%8C%E3%82%8B), 憧れる is given
as "to long for; to yearn after; to admire; to be attracted by", while on
[Weblio](https://www.weblio.jp/content/%E3%81%82%E3%81%93%E3%81%8C%E3%82%8C%E3%82%8B)
as "理想とする物事や人物に強く心が引かれる。思い焦がれる", which seems to me close enough to Jisho's
definition.

While I get why admiring and/or longing for someone could mean whishing to be
(like) them, that's not a given, someone could admire a person without wishing
to be like them, and in that episode while "I wish I were like you" it's not
out of place, neither is "I really admire you"; so I was wondering: is "I wish
to be like" a normal meaning/implication of 憧れる, or is it more neutral, a
sentiment of admiration without necessarily the wish to be like the object of
admiration, and that implication is read by the translator in the situation?
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2022-07-01T09:29:44.523
95240
2022-07-01T22:29:43.517
35362
question
meaning words
Meaning of 憧れる: admiring vs wishing to be like someone
Xに憧れる sometimes implies "to wish to be like", depending on contexts. I think
the particular case is within the spectrum of its meaning, so it is not
particularly a translation matter.

At the bottom, Xに憧れる means "the subject thinks X is ideal". Whether or not the
subject wants to be/have X depends on context.

For example assume 先輩 is a beautiful girl. If the speaker is a girl, 先輩に憧れる
would usually means "I wish I could be like 先輩"; if the subject is a boy, it
usually means "I long for 先輩". Both shares the basic "先輩 is an ideal woman".

Also, it could be the case that the speaker does not long for X thinking it is
ideal. Continuing the above, a boy could say "先輩に憧れる" just meaning "I admire
先輩", that is, without any implication that he loves her.

* * *

Another example pair.

  * ヨーロッパで暮らすことに憧れる I long for living in Europe
  * ヨーロッパで暮らすことに憧れるけど、日本のほうが楽だ I think living in Europe would be nice, but being in Japan is easier.
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2022-07-01T22:29:43.517
95246
2022-07-01T22:29:43.517
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answer