To Hurry, To Rush, To Be Upset
Intransitive verb and Ichidan verb
あわてる
慌てないで、安全運転をお願いします。
Please don't don't rush—just drive safely.
火事だと思い、慌てて水をかけたら、ただのロウソクだった。
I panicked, thinking there was a fire, and threw some water, but it was just a candle.
慌てず、慎重にね。
Don't hurry, do it carefully.
This word consists of kanji with hiragana attached. Because the hiragana ends with an う sound, you know this word is a verb. The kanji itself means confused or bewildered but this is usually just used when someone starts to panic. They're so confused and bewildered that they try to hurry through things.
Since this word consists of a kanji with hiragana attached, you can bet that it will use the kun'yomi reading. You haven't learned this reading yet, so here's a mnemonic to help you:
Whenever you start to panic you can't help but blurt out, "A wha- (あわ)?" to everything people say and ask. For example, "Would you like a mint?" "A WHA?!" Yeah, you really do sound upset.