伏せる|ふせるfuseru[2]nakadaka (mid-high)
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Definitions
- ichidan verb, transitive verbto lay (something) face down; to place upside down; to turn over (face down)
- ichidan verb, transitive verbto point downwards (one's eyes, head, etc.); to cast down (one's eyes)
- ichidan verb, transitive verb, intransitive verbto lay (oneself) face down; to lie face down; to lie flat (on one's stomach); to throw (oneself) to the ground床に伏せろ！↗Get down!
- ichidan verb, transitive verbto conceal; to hide; to keep secret; to place in hiding (e.g. troops for an ambush)
- ichidan verb, transitive verbto bring (someone) down; to kill
- ichidan verb, intransitive verbto lie down (and sleep); to go to bed (with an illness)also written as 臥せる
Conjugation
| Dictionary form | 伏せる（ふせる） |
|---|---|
| Polite (masu) | 伏せます（ふせます） |
| Negative (nai) | 伏せない（ふせない） |
| polite (masen) | 伏せません（ふせません） |
| classical zu / nu | 伏せず・伏せぬ（ふせず・ふせぬ） |
| Past (ta) | 伏せた（ふせた） |
| polite (mashita) | 伏せました（ふせました） |
| Past negative (nakatta) | 伏せなかった（ふせなかった） |
| polite (masen deshita) | 伏せませんでした（ふせませんでした） |
| Te form | 伏せて（ふせて） |
| Potential | 伏せられる（ふせられる） |
| Passive | 伏せられる（ふせられる） |
| Causative | 伏せさせる（ふせさせる） |
| Causative passive | 伏せさせられる（ふせさせられる） |
| Conditional (ba) | 伏せれば（ふせれば） |
| tara | 伏せたら（ふせたら） |
| Volitional | 伏せよう（ふせよう） |
| polite (mashou) | 伏せましょう（ふせましょう） |
| Imperative | 伏せろ（ふせろ） |
Common forms generated by rule; see the senses for honorific or irregular usage.
Synonyms & antonyms
- Synonym伏するふくするWrittenWritten/formal prose: to prostrate oneself or submit; stresses bowing the body or yielding, while 「伏せる」 covers turning things face down, lowering the eyes, or hiding.
- Related横たえるよこたえるNeutralLays things or the body down horizontally; the point is laying it flat, not face down.
- Related臥すふすWrittenWritten/formal prose: lying down or being in bed, often as 「病に臥す」; the emphasis is on illness.
- Related臥するがするWrittenWritten, archaic word: to lie in bed; rare in modern Japanese, and focused simply on lying down.
- AntonymあげるNeutralTo raise something; the opposite of 「伏せる」 when lowering the eyes or face, as in 「顔を上げる」. It does not mean turning a face-down object right side up.
- Antonym起こすおこすNeutralBrings someone who is lying down or face down back up, as in 「体を起こす」; the opposite of the lying-face-down sense of 「伏せる」.
Use 「伏せる」 to turn something face down, lower your eyes, hide a name, or be bedridden, as in 「コップを伏せる」「目を伏せる」; for laying something flat use 「横たえる」, and in formal prose 「臥す」 for lying in bed; raise your face with 「上げる」, help someone up with 「起こす」.
Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only
Japanese definitions
Kanji in this word
See also
