抜く|ぬく
- 1To carry an action through to the end, persevering despite difficulty.Ex. 1
- 2To do something thoroughly, to the fullest possible extent.
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A neutral pattern found in both speech and writing, typically with effortful verbs such as 走る, 耐える, 戦う, 守る and 考える to stress endurance or thoroughness. Unlike 続ける, which only says an action continues, 抜く stresses reaching the end despite hardship. Unlike きる, which marks simple completion, 抜く stresses effort and struggle.
Do not use 抜く with easy, effortless actions; it implies struggle, perseverance, or deep thoroughness.
Note that 抜く attaches to the ます-stem, not the て-form or dictionary form (走り抜く, not 走って抜く).
Learners should not confuse verb-stem 抜く with noun + 抜きで, which means 'without' something.
- きるN3「きる」 focuses on finishing all of a quantity or scope with nothing left over, and can be used even for easy actions like 「食べきる」 or 「使いきる」; it can also express a state reaching its extreme (「疲れきる」). Endurance-type uses like 「走り抜く」 are interchangeable with 「走りきる」.
- 抜きで / 抜きにしてN2「抜く」 attaches to the ます-form of a verb and means seeing something through to the end or doing it to the utmost; 「抜きで / 抜きにして」 attaches to nouns and means removing someone or something that would normally be included, while 「を抜きにしては」 means 'without... it's impossible.' They cannot be swapped.
- 続けるN4「続ける」 focuses on an action continuing without interruption over time, and can be either an objective description or express persistence, but carries no sense of reaching an endpoint or extreme; 「抜く」 emphasizes overcoming hardship to persist to the end or do something thoroughly. 「続ける」 can also be used as 「noun + を続ける」.
- 終わるN4「終わる」 only objectively indicates that an action is finished, with no emotional coloring, and works for everyday actions too; 「抜く」 emphasizes overcoming difficulty to persist to the end or doing something to the utmost, and is not used for easy actions, so 「食べ終わる」 cannot be said as 「食べ抜く」.
- 切れないN3「切れない」 means being unable to finish or do something completely because the amount is too large or the degree is limited; 「抜く」 means overcoming hardship to persist to the end or do something to the utmost, emphasizing willpower and the process. Both attach to the ます-form, but their meanings point in opposite directions and cannot be swapped.
Unlike きる (full completion) and 終わる (simply finishing), 抜く adds a sense of persevering through hardship, and unlike 続ける it implies reaching the end rather than just continuing. It is unrelated to 抜きで / 抜きにして ('without X,' after nouns) and contrasts with 切れない, which expresses being unable to finish or complete something.
