窪む

Japanese

Kanji in this term
窪
くぼ Jinmeiyō
kun’yomi

Etymology 1

Verb derived from noun 窪 / 凹 (kubo, “an indentation, a depression”) + verbalizing suffix む (mu, “seeming like, becoming like”).

Alternative forms

• 凹む

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) くぼむ [kùbómú] (Heiban – [0])
• IPA^(key): [kɯ̟ᵝbo̞mɯ̟ᵝ]

Verb

窪(くぼ)む • (kubomu) intransitive godan (stem 窪(くぼ)み (kubomi), past 窪(くぼ)んだ (kubonda))

1. to become hollow, cave in, sink in

Usage notes

The transitive form is 窪める / 凹める (kubomeru). Consequently, the potential form is the same as the passive form, くぼまれる (kubomareru), instead of くぼめる (kubomeru) as shown incorrectly in the table above.

The spelling 窪む is used more often for くぼむ, because the alternative spelling 凹む can also be read as へこむ.

Conjugation

Conjugation of "窪む" (See Appendix:Japanese verbs.)

Katsuyōkei ("stem forms")
Mizenkei ("imperfective")	窪ま	くぼま	kuboma
Ren’yōkei ("continuative")	窪み	くぼみ	kubomi
Shūshikei ("terminal")	窪む	くぼむ	kubomu
Rentaikei ("attributive")	窪む	くぼむ	kubomu
Kateikei ("hypothetical")	窪め	くぼめ	kubome
Meireikei ("imperative")	窪め	くぼめ	kubome
Key constructions
Passive	窪まれる	くぼまれる	kubomareru
Causative	窪ませる 窪ます	くぼませる くぼます	kubomaseru kubomasu
Potential	窪める	くぼめる	kubomeru
Volitional	窪もう	くぼもう	kubomō
Negative	窪まない	くぼまない	kubomanai
Negative continuative	窪まず	くぼまず	kubomazu
Formal	窪みます	くぼみます	kubomimasu
Perfective	窪んだ	くぼんだ	kubonda
Conjunctive	窪んで	くぼんで	kubonde
Hypothetical conditional	窪めば	くぼめば	kubomeba

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
窪
いし Jinmeiyō
kun’yomi

Appears in texts from the Muromachi period.

Ultimate derivation unclear. May be derived from adjective 美しい (ishii), which was used ironically to mean the opposite of its usual positive connotations.

Alternative forms

• 窳む

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [iɕimɯ̟ᵝ]

Verb

窪(いし)む • (ishimu) intransitive godan (stem 窪(いし)み (ishimi), past 窪(いし)んだ (ishinda))

1. (archaic, possibly obsolete) to deform, to become deformed
2. (archaic, possibly obsolete) to become cracked

Conjugation

Conjugation of "窪む" (See Appendix:Japanese verbs.)

Katsuyōkei ("stem forms")
Mizenkei ("imperfective")	窪ま	いしま	ishima
Ren’yōkei ("continuative")	窪み	いしみ	ishimi
Shūshikei ("terminal")	窪む	いしむ	ishimu
Rentaikei ("attributive")	窪む	いしむ	ishimu
Kateikei ("hypothetical")	窪め	いしめ	ishime
Meireikei ("imperative")	窪め	いしめ	ishime
Key constructions
Passive	窪まれる	いしまれる	ishimareru
Causative	窪ませる 窪ます	いしませる いします	ishimaseru ishimasu
Potential	窪める	いしめる	ishimeru
Volitional	窪もう	いしもう	ishimō
Negative	窪まない	いしまない	ishimanai
Negative continuative	窪まず	いしまず	ishimazu
Formal	窪みます	いしみます	ishimimasu
Perfective	窪んだ	いしんだ	ishinda
Conjunctive	窪んで	いしんで	ishinde
Hypothetical conditional	窪めば	いしめば	ishimeba