The theme
It’s hard to tell the difference between「だらけ」and「まみれ」.
So I want to explain the difference this time. At first, we should know about the meaning of 「だらけ」and「まみれ」
The meaning of「だらけ」and「まみれ」
「だらけ」
①We put 「だらけ」 after a noun, to express that
something was polluted, and the polluted area is expanding on the surface of
the object. 。～にまみれている。
②Using「だらけ」 to a noun to express that there is lot of it.
「まみれ」
Putted after a noun , to express the contamination of a whole thing. And it
also refers to an embarrassing situation.
It also can be used for abstract meaning like 「俗塵（ぞくじん）にまみれる」 to be used for a bad image. Etymologically,「まみれ」is a derivative word form the verb「塗（まみ）れる」。Let’s check the meaning of「塗れる」。
「まみれる」
Something is polluted as a whole.
After we learn and understand about the meaning of 「だらけ」, we can tell that there is some situation that「だらけ」and「まみれ」have the same meaning.
Examples of「だらけ」and「まみれ」
Let’s read and analyze these examples.
「だらけ」①
銃撃戦の後、辺りは血だらけだった。 After a gunfight, there were a lot of bloodstains all around.
土足で家に入ったので、床が泥だらけだ。After he get into the house wearing shoes, the floor was covered
with a lot of mud.
血だらけになっても、立ち上がる。
He’s standing, though he’s covered in blood.
泥だらけの作業着
A work uniform witch is full of mud.
「だらけ」②
傷だらけ be wounded a
lot
間違いだらけ riddled with
errors
借金だらけ be burdened
with debts
「まみれ」
垢まみれ a lot of stain
汗まみれ a lot of sweat
埃まみれ a lot of dust
借金まみれ a lot of debts
Summary
血だらけ/まみれ
泥だらけ/まみれ
借金だらけ/まみれ
垢、埃 make no difference. If we talking about the situation of these five nouns,「だらけ」and「まみれ」are almost the same meaning。
Explanation
I will explain the slight difference between「だらけ」and「まみれ」.
As we talked in the beginning of this essay, the meaning of 「だらけ」②, we said that there is a nuance of 「a lot of」「たくさん」in this word. Therefor, this word have the meaning of「たくさんついてて汚れている」「be polluted by many dirty things」。
In the other hand,「まみれ」and「まみれる」have the same nuance of「Something is polluted as a whole」「あるものが全体的に汚れている」. For example, that something could be the whole body of a person, or the whole region of an area..and so on…such things that give you a impression of “The range is decided”.
From「This region is all be polluted」「その範囲が全体的に汚れている」you can tell that「This region has been polluted a lot」「その範囲がたくさん汚れている」right? So you can also tell what「だらけ」and「まみれ」mean in common.
Epilogue
The next time we will
talk about what’s the difference between 「だらけ」and「まみれ」.
Do you know how to use these two words？ But
in the end, is it really necessary to distinguish these two words？？？