Hello everyone,

I've been having problems with the verbs Furueru (震える) and Yureru (揺れる). I don't really understand how they are different from each other. Are there specific ''conditions'' where you should use one or another?

Thanks in advance!

震える means to shake or tremble. Imagine someone shivering in the cold.

揺れる means to sway. Imagine a tree or flag swaying in the wind.

Alright, thanks for the examples, it really helps me out.

Thank you for the fast answer

I went hiking on the kumano-kodo the other day, and my leg muscles started trembling on the downhill parts. I used "yureru" to tell my friend, and we had the same conversation we're having now.

So just to add some examples from our conversation: furueru is what I should have used for trembling muscles. In an earthquake buildings and trees yureru. If you tremble in fear during the earthquake it's furueru.

From what I'm deducing (could be very wrong though), 増える is for living subjects while 揺れる is for inanimate objects? I briefly recall 増える once introduced in my Japanese class a couple of years back.

You can use either word for any kind of object, as long as it's actually doing that thing.
Granted, inanimate objects are more likely to sway, such as trees, but if it fits the description then there is no reason why you couldn't use the word for animate objects too.

Basically it's not a matter of one is for animate and one is for inanimate objects, it's just a matter of definition.
To that end, perhaps a definition will help you.

From the 大辞林 dictionary on my iPod (sorry for the not so great translations):

震える：To shake, To tremble:
①物が細かく揺れ動く。振動する。「爆音で窓ガラスがビリビリと震える」
Something trembles a little bit. To vibrate. 'A windowpane rattles from the blast'

②恐怖・寒さ・緊張などのために体が細かく動く。「雨に打たれて震えていた」「手が震えて字がうまく書けない」
Your body makes small movements due to fear, the cold, nervousness etc. 'I was exposed to the rain and shaking' 'My hand was shaking and I can't write well'

揺れる：To sway:
①ある点を中心として前後、左右、上下などに動く。「木の枝が揺れる」「船が揺れる」「ブランコが揺れる」
To move back and forth, left and right, up and down using a certain point as the pivot. 'A tree's branches sway' 'A boat sways' 'A swing sways'

②（本来一定しているはずのものが）一定しない状態にある。「判断の基準が揺れる」
Something that is expected to be fixed by nature, is in a state of not being that way. 'The standard of judgement sways/shakes'

Thanks for taking the time to provide the Japanese definitions and example sentences. They really give a clearer distinction