What's the difference between 堪える{こたえる} and 堪える{こらえる}？


> to bear; to stand; to endure; to put up with

What is the difference between 堪える(こたえる) and 堪える(こらえる)?

There is also 堪える(たえる) but it got additional

> to support; to withstand; to resist; to brave
>
> to be fit for; to be equal to

Do they have some sort of nuance or just you use whatever you like. I can see
that こらえる is used when こたえる may be either 答える or 堪える, but other than that. No
idea.




**堪える: こたえる vs. こらえる vs. たえる**

First of all, the trio of words can easily be divided into two groups for
their meanings and that would be:

> Group 1: こたえる
>
> Group 2: こらえる and たえる

The meaning of こたえる is quite different from those of the other two. It means "
_ **to get to**_ " in the sense of annoying a person physically and/or
psychologically. You can say:

> 「インフルはマジで **こたえた** 。」 = "The flu really got to me."

It is naturally Group 2 that is more complex as the two words are "similar" in
meaning.

Grammar first.

「こらえる」 is transitive -- 「～～ **を** こらえる」, and

「たえる」 is intransitive -- 「～～ **に** たえる」.

Next, the meanings in my own words (as the bilingual dictionary definitions
would be of little help).

「こらえる」is most often used to mean " _ **to control or suppress the outburst of
one's own strong emotions**_ ".

「たえる」 is most often used to mean " _ **to persevere through the
adversity/pressure coming from outside that could affect you in a negative
way**_ ".

In real life, however, the two words are occasionally used interchangeably by
many of us native speakers, to be completely honest.




**堪える: こたえる vs. こらえる vs. たえる**

First of all, the trio of words can easily be divided into two groups for
their meanings and that would be:

> Group 1: こたえる
>
> Group 2: こらえる and たえる

The meaning of こたえる is quite different from those of the other two. It means "
_ **to get to**_ " in the sense of annoying a person physically and/or
psychologically. You can say:

> 「インフルはマジで **こたえた** 。」 = "The flu really got to me."

It is naturally Group 2 that is more complex as the two words are "similar" in
meaning.

Grammar first.

「こらえる」 is transitive -- 「～～ **を** こらえる」, and

「たえる」 is intransitive -- 「～～ **に** たえる」.

Next, the meanings in my own words (as the bilingual dictionary definitions
would be of little help).

「こらえる」is most often used to mean " _ **to control or suppress the outburst of
one's own strong emotions**_ ".

「たえる」 is most often used to mean " _ **to persevere through the
adversity/pressure coming from outside that could affect you in a negative
way**_ ".

In real life, however, the two words are occasionally used interchangeably by
many of us native speakers, to be completely honest.

