膨らむ

Japanese

Kanji in this term
膨
ふく Grade: S
kun'yomi

Alternative spelling
脹らむ

Etymology

First cited to the mid-800s.^[1]

From 膨, 脹 (fukura, “a bulge, a swelling”) +‎ む (-mu, suffix indicating “looks like, seems like”). The fukura portion is in turn from now-archaic verb 膨る, 脹る (fukuru, “to swell, to bulge”), superseded by modern 膨れる, 脹れる (fukureru) of the same meaning.

Pronunciation

(Tokyo) ふくらむ [fùkúrámú] (Heiban – [0])^[2]^[3]
IPA^(key): [ɸɯ̟kɯ̟ɾa̠mɯ̟]

Tokyo pitch accent of conjugated forms of 「膨らむ」

Stem forms
Source: Online Japanese Accent Dictionary
Terminal (終止形) Attributive (連体形)	膨らむ	ふくらむ	`[fùkúrámú]`
Imperative (命令形)	膨らめ	ふくらめ	`[fùkúrámé]`
Key constructions
Passive	膨らまれる	ふくらまれる	`[fùkúrámárérú]`
Causative	膨らませる	ふくらませる	`[fùkúrámásérú]`
Potential	-	-	-
Volitional	膨らもう	ふくらもー	`[fùkúrámóꜜò]`
Negative	膨らまない	ふくらまない	`[fùkúrámánáí]`
Negative perfective	膨らまなかった	ふくらまなかった	`[fùkúrámánáꜜkàttà]`
Formal	膨らみます	ふくらみます	`[fùkúrámímáꜜsù]`
Perfective	膨らんだ	ふくらんだ	`[fùkúráńdá]`
Conjunctive	膨らんで	ふくらんで	`[fùkúráńdé]`
Hypothetical conditional	膨らめば	ふくらめば	`[fùkúráméꜜbà]`

Verb

膨(ふく)らむ • (fukuramu) intransitive godan (stem 膨(ふく)らみ (fukurami), past 膨(ふく)らんだ (fukuranda))

to swell, to expand, to get bigger

Usage notes

The intransitive verb 膨らむ (fukuramu) is used to describe something that happens naturally of its own accord, generally with a positive sense.

蕾(つぼみ)が膨(ふく)らむ、夢(ゆめ)が膨(ふく)らむ、胸(むね)が〔幸(しあわ)せなどで〕膨(ふく)らむ
tsubomi ga fukuramu, yume ga fukuramu, mune ga 〔shiawase nado de〕 fukuramu
the buds swell, one's dreams grow bigger, one's chest swells [with joy, etc.]

The synonym 膨れる (fukureru) is used to describe something that happens due to an abnormality or external force, not necessarily with a positive sense.

パンが膨(ふく)れる、躯(むくろ)が膨(ふく)れる、頬(ほお)が膨(ふく)れる
pan ga fukureru, mukuro ga fukureru, hō ga fukureru
the bread rises, the corpse bloats, one's cheeks puff up (→ one pouts or sulks)

Conjugation

Conjugation of "膨らむ" (See Appendix:Japanese verbs.)

Katsuyōkei ("stem forms")
Mizenkei ("imperfective")	膨らま	ふくらま	fukurama
Ren’yōkei ("continuative")	膨らみ	ふくらみ	fukurami
Shūshikei ("terminal")	膨らむ	ふくらむ	fukuramu
Rentaikei ("attributive")	膨らむ	ふくらむ	fukuramu
Kateikei ("hypothetical")	膨らめ	ふくらめ	fukurame
Meireikei ("imperative")	膨らめ	ふくらめ	fukurame
Key constructions
Passive	膨らまれる	ふくらまれる	fukuramareru
Causative	膨らませる膨らます	ふくらませるふくらます	fukuramaseru fukuramasu
Potential	膨らめる	ふくらめる	fukurameru
Volitional	膨らもう	ふくらもう	fukuramō
Negative	膨らまない	ふくらまない	fukuramanai
Negative continuative	膨らまず	ふくらまず	fukuramazu
Formal	膨らみます	ふくらみます	fukuramimasu
Perfective	膨らんだ	ふくらんだ	fukuranda
Conjunctive	膨らんで	ふくらんで	fukurande
Hypothetical conditional	膨らめば	ふくらめば	fukurameba

Derived terms

膨らめる (fukurameru, “to inflate or expand something”, transitive)
膨らます (fukuramasu, “to make something swell or expand”, causative / transitive)
膨らみ (fukurami, “a bulge, a swelling”)

References

^ Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
^ Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
^ Hirayama, Teruo, editor (1960), 全国アクセント辞典 (Zenkoku Akusento Jiten, “Nationwide Accent Dictionary”) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Tōkyōdō, →ISBN

[KDJ-1] Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN

[DJR-2] Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

[ZAJ-3] Hirayama, Teruo, editor (1960), 全国アクセント辞典 (Zenkoku Akusento Jiten, “Nationwide Accent Dictionary”) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Tōkyōdō, →ISBN

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