曲折|きょくせつkyokusetsu[0]heiban (flat)
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- noun, suru verb, intransitive verbbending; winding; meandering; zigzagging
- noun, suru verb, intransitive verbups and downs; twists and turns; complications; difficulties; vicissitudes
Conjugation
| Dictionary form | 曲折する(きょくせつする) |
|---|---|
| Polite (masu) | 曲折します(きょくせつします) |
| Negative (nai) | 曲折しない(きょくせつしない) |
| polite (masen) | 曲折しません(きょくせつしません) |
| classical zu / nu | 曲折せず・曲折せぬ(きょくせつせず・きょくせつせぬ) |
| Past (ta) | 曲折した(きょくせつした) |
| polite (mashita) | 曲折しました(きょくせつしました) |
| Past negative (nakatta) | 曲折しなかった(きょくせつしなかった) |
| polite (masen deshita) | 曲折しませんでした(きょくせつしませんでした) |
| Te form | 曲折して(きょくせつして) |
| Potential | 曲折できる(きょくせつできる) |
| Passive | 曲折される(きょくせつされる) |
| Causative | 曲折させる(きょくせつさせる) |
| Causative passive | 曲折させられる(きょくせつさせられる) |
| Conditional (ba) | 曲折すれば(きょくせつすれば) |
| tara | 曲折したら(きょくせつしたら) |
| Volitional | 曲折しよう(きょくせつしよう) |
| polite (mashou) | 曲折しましょう(きょくせつしましょう) |
| Imperative | 曲折しろ(きょくせつしろ) |
Common forms generated by rule; see the senses for honorific or irregular usage.
- Synonym湾曲わんきょくWrittenWritten/formal prose. Bow-shaped bending, as in 「背骨の湾曲」; 「曲折」 covers both bends and the twists and turns of events.
- Synonym屈折くっせつWrittenWritten/formal prose. Refraction of light or a warped, twisted mind, as in 「屈折した感情」; 「曲折」 is about twists and turns in the course of events.
- Synonym蛇行だこうWrittenWritten/formal prose. Moving in a snaking, winding line, as in 「川が蛇行する」; 「曲折」 leans toward ups and downs.
- Synonym迂曲うきょくWrittenWritten/formal prose. Roads that wind and double back; 「曲折」 also describes the twists and turns of events.
- Synonym屈曲くっきょくWrittenWritten/formal prose. Bending of joints or objects; 「曲折」 leans toward roads and the twists of events.
- Related曲がりまがりCasualColloquial. A bend or corner, as in 「曲がり角」; 「曲折」 is more written and carries the sense of ups and downs.
- Related曲がりくねるまがりくねるCasualColloquial verb for roads twisting and turning; 「曲折」 is a written noun that also suggests ups and downs.
- RelatedカーブNeutralLoanword for a turn or a curveball, as in 「急カーブ」; 「曲折」 leans toward twists in the course of events.
- RelatedうねうねCasualColloquial mimetic word for hills and waves rising and falling, or roads winding on; 「曲折」 is the more written choice.
- RelatedくねくねCasualColloquial mimetic word for wriggling, twisting movement; 「曲折」 is the more written choice.
- RelatedくねるCasualColloquial verb for twisting or wriggling the body; 「曲折」 is a written noun.
- RelatedベンドNeutralLoanword for the bent part of a pipe or rope; 「曲折」 leans toward roads and twists of events.
- Antonym直線ちょくせんNeutralA straight line; the opposite of 「曲折」 in the bent-versus-straight sense.
- Antonym平坦へいたんNeutralFlat and uneventful; the opposite of 「曲折」 in the twists-versus-smooth-going sense.
Use 「曲折」 for winding roads and, figuratively, for twists and turns in events, as in 「紆余曲折」 and 「曲折を経る」. For bow-shaped bending use 「湾曲」, for refraction or a warped mind 「屈折」, for snaking movement 「蛇行」; the opposites are 「直線」 and 「平坦」.
Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only


