窄める

Japanese

Kanji in this term
窄
すぼ Jinmeiyō
kun'yomi

Japanese verb pair
active	窄(すぼ)める
mediopassive	窄(すぼ)まる

Etymology 1

The transitive form of 窄む (subomu, “to become tapered, pulled together, scrunched up”), from the adjective 窄い (suboi, “tapered, pulled together, scrunched up”) + verb suffix む (mu, “to be like, to become like”).

Root stem /subo-/ is semantically and phonetically similar to root /ɕibo/ (a pucker or wrinkle; see 皺 (shibo)).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) すぼめる [sùbómérú] (Heiban – [0])
• (Tokyo) すぼめる [sùbóméꜜrù] (Nakadaka – [3])
• IPA^(key): [sɨbo̞me̞ɾɯ̟]

Verb

窄(すぼ)める • (subomeru) transitive ichidan (stem 窄(すぼ)め (subome), past 窄(すぼ)めた (subometa))

1. to make something become tapered, pulled together, scrunched up:
   1. to shut or fold (an umbrella)
   2. to shrug (one's shoulders)
   3. to pucker or purse (one's lips)

Usage notes

/subomeru/ and /tsubomeru/ are mostly identical, differing in connotation: /subomeru/ implies bringing together or scrunching up something that was broad and spreading, as in cloth or one's mouth; whereas /tsubomeru/ implies closing down or narrowing something that was open wide, as an umbrella. This distinction is minor, however.

Conjugation

Conjugation of "窄める" (See Appendix:Japanese verbs.)

Katsuyōkei ("stem forms")
Mizenkei ("imperfective")	窄め	すぼめ	subome
Ren’yōkei ("continuative")	窄め	すぼめ	subome
Shūshikei ("terminal")	窄める	すぼめる	subomeru
Rentaikei ("attributive")	窄める	すぼめる	subomeru
Kateikei ("hypothetical")	窄めれ	すぼめれ	subomere
Meireikei ("imperative")	窄めよ¹ 窄めろ²	すぼめよ¹ すぼめろ²	subomeyo¹ subomero²
Key constructions
Passive	窄められる	すぼめられる	subomerareru
Causative	窄めさせる 窄めさす	すぼめさせる すぼめさす	subomesaseru subomesasu
Potential	窄められる 窄めれる³	すぼめられる すぼめれる³	subomerareru subomereru³
Volitional	窄めよう	すぼめよう	subomeyō
Negative	窄めない 窄めぬ 窄めん	すぼめない すぼめぬ すぼめん	subomenai subomenu subomen
Negative continuative	窄めず	すぼめず	subomezu
Formal	窄めます	すぼめます	subomemasu
Perfective	窄めた	すぼめた	subometa
Conjunctive	窄めて	すぼめて	subomete
Hypothetical conditional	窄めれば	すぼめれば	subomereba
¹ Written imperative ² Spoken imperative ³ Colloquial potential

See also

• 窄(すぼ)まる (subomaru): to become tapered, pulled together, scrunched up

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
窄
つぼ Jinmeiyō
kun'yomi

Japanese verb pair
active	窄(つぼ)める
mediopassive	窄(つぼ)まる

The transitive form of 窄む (tsubomu, “to be narrowed, scrunched up”), probably as a shift from /subomu/ influenced by 蕾む / 莟む (tsubomu, “to form a bud”), ultimately from root /t͡subo/ (a container, a vessel)　+ verb suffix む (mu, “to be like, to become like”): see 壺 (tsubo, “a vessel, a basin, a container”).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) つぼめる [tsùbómérú] (Heiban – [0])
• IPA^(key): [t͡sɨbo̞me̞ɾɯ̟]

Verb

窄(つぼ)める • (tsubomeru) transitive ichidan (stem 窄(つぼ)め (tsubome), past 窄(つぼ)めた (tsubometa))

1. to narrow something, to scrunch something up:
   1. to shut or fold (an umbrella)
   2. to shrug (one's shoulders)
   3. to pucker or purse (one's lips)

Usage notes

/subomeru/ and /tsubomeru/ are mostly identical, differing in connotation: /subomeru/ implies bringing together or scrunching up something that was broad and spreading, as in cloth or one's mouth; whereas /tsubomeru/ implies closing down or narrowing something that was open wide, as an umbrella. This distinction is minor, however.

Conjugation

Conjugation of "窄める" (See Appendix:Japanese verbs.)

Katsuyōkei ("stem forms")
Mizenkei ("imperfective")	窄め	つぼめ	tsubome
Ren’yōkei ("continuative")	窄め	つぼめ	tsubome
Shūshikei ("terminal")	窄める	つぼめる	tsubomeru
Rentaikei ("attributive")	窄める	つぼめる	tsubomeru
Kateikei ("hypothetical")	窄めれ	つぼめれ	tsubomere
Meireikei ("imperative")	窄めよ¹ 窄めろ²	つぼめよ¹ つぼめろ²	tsubomeyo¹ tsubomero²
Key constructions
Passive	窄められる	つぼめられる	tsubomerareru
Causative	窄めさせる 窄めさす	つぼめさせる つぼめさす	tsubomesaseru tsubomesasu
Potential	窄められる 窄めれる³	つぼめられる つぼめれる³	tsubomerareru tsubomereru³
Volitional	窄めよう	つぼめよう	tsubomeyō
Negative	窄めない 窄めぬ 窄めん	つぼめない つぼめぬ つぼめん	tsubomenai tsubomenu tsubomen
Negative continuative	窄めず	つぼめず	tsubomezu
Formal	窄めます	つぼめます	tsubomemasu
Perfective	窄めた	つぼめた	tsubometa
Conjunctive	窄めて	つぼめて	tsubomete
Hypothetical conditional	窄めれば	つぼめれば	tsubomereba
¹ Written imperative ² Spoken imperative ³ Colloquial potential

See also

• 窄(つぼ)まる (tsubomaru): to become narrowed, pulled together, scrunched up