枯れる and 萎れる: flowers withering, a dry well and dejection
Compare the overlapping flower meanings of 枯れる and 萎れる with a well drying up and a brother becoming a little dejected. Keep conditions, results and objects distinct.
枯れる in a condition about watering
枯れる (かれる) means to wither or dry up. 「水を忘れると鉢植えの花が枯れる。」 means “The flowers in the pot will wither if you forget to water them.” 水を忘れると supplies the condition; the sentence does not report that these flowers have already withered.
「物語の村では井戸が枯れて人々が困った。」 means “In the village in the story, the well dried up and caused hardship.” The object drying up is the well in the story, with hardship as the stated consequence. Here 枯れて refers to the well drying up, rather than flowers withering.
萎れる for wilted flowers and a dejected person
萎れる (しおれる) can mean to wilt or lose heart. 「水を忘れて鉢植えの花が萎れた。」 means “I forgot to water the plant, and its flowers wilted.” Unlike the conditional flower sentence, this reports actual wilting after forgotten watering.
「注意されて弟は少し萎れてしまった。」 means “My younger brother became a little dejected after being reprimanded.” 少し limits the degree of the younger brother's dejection. The sentence supplies no abandoned challenge or permanent personality change.
Overlap in flowers, different objects elsewhere
Both verbs occur with potted flowers. The examples do not establish a fixed division in which 枯れる always means death and 萎れる always describes a recoverable state. First identify the condition or reported result.
Outside the flower examples, 枯れて concerns a well and 萎れて concerns the younger brother. Drying up and dejection are read through those objects, without turning either into a judgment about a flower's survival.
Do these examples establish that 枯れる always means death while 萎れる always describes a recoverable state?
Show the answer and why
No. Both verbs describe flowers withering or wilting, while the conditional watering sentence differs from the reported past result. The other objects are a well drying up in a story and a brother becoming a little dejected. Neither death nor recovery is supplied as a fixed distinction.