Meaning of 憧れる: admiring vs wishing to be like someone


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?




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.




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.

