告る (Kokuru): ‘Confess Your Feelings to Your Crush’ in Japanese

Pronunciation

Definition

告る (こくる, kokuru)  is an abbreviation of “告白こくはくする (こくはくする, kokuhakusuru)” and it means “confess one’s feeling to his/her crush”. The abbreviated word sounds very casual and is often used among teenagers. For instance,  “来月らいげつの修学しゅうがく旅行りょこうでかおりに告るわ！” means “I will 告る (confess my feelings for) Kaori on the school trip next month!”.

General Definition of 告白する

The original word 告白する generally means “confess (something)”, and it is not limited to confessing one’s feeling. For instance, “真実しんじつを告白する” and “秘密ひみつを告白する” mean “confess the truth” and “confess the secret”, respectively. However, when used as “~に告白する” meaning “confess to ~”, it means “confess one’s feeling to one’s crush”.

Dating Culture in Japan

In Japan, people usually confess their feelings for their crush before getting into a relationship. Some surveys on the internet indicate that about 50 % of girls want their potential partners to kokuru them on the 3rd date.

Example Sentences

Ex1
まいに告ったら無事ぶじ振ふられた
I 告った (confessed my feelings for) Mai and “successfully” got rejected.

(Note) “無事 (ぶじ)” generally means “without any trouble”, but here it is used as self-deprecating sarcasm.

Ex2
好すきな人ひとに告るのはかなり勇気ゆうきがいる。
It requires a lot of courage to 告る (confess to) your crush.

See also

合コン (gōkon) and 街コン (machikon): Japanese Dating Culture

Synonyms: 告白こくはくする (confess), 気持きもちを伝つたえる (tell one’s feelings to someone)
Synonyms in English: confess to someone
Related words and phrases: 告白する