気づく・気付く|きづくkizuku[2]nakadaka (mid-high)
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Which spelling to use
気づく気づく is the most common written form and the recommended choice for beginners. Use it when writing this word.
気付く気付く is a less common written variant of 気づく. You may encounter it in writing, but beginners should use 気づく.
Definitions
- godan verb, intransitive verbto notice; to realize; to realise; to become aware (of); to perceive; to sense; to suspect
- godan verb, intransitive verbto regain consciousness; to come to (one's senses); to come round
Conjugation
| Dictionary form | 気づく（きづく） |
|---|---|
| Polite (masu) | 気づきます（きづきます） |
| Negative (nai) | 気づかない（きづかない） |
| polite (masen) | 気づきません（きづきません） |
| classical zu / nu | 気づかず・気づかぬ（きづかず・きづかぬ） |
| Past (ta) | 気づいた（きづいた） |
| polite (mashita) | 気づきました（きづきました） |
| Past negative (nakatta) | 気づかなかった（きづかなかった） |
| polite (masen deshita) | 気づきませんでした（きづきませんでした） |
| Te form | 気づいて（きづいて） |
| Potential | 気づける（きづける） |
| Passive | 気づかれる（きづかれる） |
| Causative | 気づかせる（きづかせる） |
| Causative passive | 気づかせられる・気づかされる（きづかせられる・きづかされる） |
| Conditional (ba) | 気づけば（きづけば） |
| tara | 気づいたら（きづいたら） |
| Volitional | 気づこう（きづこう） |
| polite (mashou) | 気づきましょう（きづきましょう） |
| Imperative | 気づけ（きづけ） |
Common forms generated by rule; see the senses for honorific or irregular usage.
Synonyms & antonyms
- Synonym気がつくきがつくNeutralBasically interchangeable with 「気づく」 and more common in speech; it also means being attentive and considerate, as in 「よく気がつく人」.
- Synonym感知かんちWrittenWritten/formal: sensing something, or a device detecting it, as in 「センサーが感知する」.
- Synonym悟るさとるWrittenWritten/formal: grasping the essence or truth of something, or attaining Buddhist enlightenment; deeper than 「気づく」.
- Synonym知るしるNeutralThe broadest word for knowing or learning something; 「気づく」 stresses noticing what you had not noticed before.
- Synonym知覚ちかくWrittenA psychology term for perceiving the outside world through the senses; uncommon in daily conversation.
- Synonym認識にんしきWrittenWritten/formal: clearly recognizing and understanding the essence of something, as in 「認識が甘い」.
- Synonym認知にんちWrittenWritten/formal: cognition, or the legal acknowledgment of a child born out of wedlock; seen in 「認知症」.
- RelatedわかるNeutralCovers understanding or grasping something, and facts becoming clear; 「気づく」 is about noticing something you had not been paying attention to.
- Related見出すみいだすWrittenA written/formal word for discovering something valuable among many things, as in 「意義を見出す」.
- Related感じ取るかんじとるNeutralPicking up an atmosphere or someone's feelings through the senses; it stresses emotional, intuitive perception rather than simple noticing.
- Related察知さっちWrittenA written/formal word for inferring something from signs, as in 「危険を察知する」.
- Related発見はっけんNeutralDiscovering something previously unknown or something you have been looking for; 「気づく」 is becoming aware of what is around you.
- Related捉えるとらえるNeutralGrasping or capturing key points or features, as in 「本質を捉える」; its literal sense is to physically catch or seize.
- Related見つけるみつけるNeutralFinding or spotting something, concrete or abstract, as in 「鍵を見つける」 and 「解決策を見つける」; 「気づく」 stresses awareness of a state or change.
- Related理解りかいNeutralUnderstanding the meaning or content of something, and also sympathizing; 「気づく」 only means noticing, not necessarily understanding.
- Related察するさっするWrittenWritten/formal: inferring and reading a situation, especially showing consideration for someone's feelings, as in 「お察しします」.
- Related見抜くみぬくNeutralSeeing through a hidden truth or someone's true nature, as in 「嘘を見抜く」; it stresses keen insight.
- Related感受かんじゅWrittenWritten/formal and academic: receiving or responding to external stimuli, mostly seen in 「感受性」.
- Related感づくかんづくNeutralSensing something vaguely, usually something bad such as danger, a secret, or a plot.
- Related心付くこころづくWrittenA literary word for noticing or regaining consciousness; rare today, with 「気づく」 used in everyday speech.
- Related看取かんしゅWrittenWritten language for seeing through or perceiving something; rare, and equivalent in meaning to 「見て取る」.
- Related見て取るみてとるWrittenA written/formal word for taking in a situation at a glance, as in 「状況を見て取る」.
- Related思い至るおもいいたるWrittenA written/formal word for coming to realize something only after thinking it through, as in 「その可能性に思い至る」.
- Antonym気付かないNeutralThe negative form of 「気づく」: not noticing or failing to become aware of something.
- Antonym無視するNeutralDeliberately ignoring something even after noticing it; the opposite of noticing and paying attention.
For noticing or realizing something, use 「気づく」 or 「気がつく」. Use 「見つける」 for finding something, 「感づく」 for vaguely sensing something bad, and 「見抜く」 for seeing through the truth. Written alternatives include 「察知する」, 「見て取る」, 「思い至る」 and 「悟る」, while 「分かる」 and 「理解」 are about understanding rather than noticing.
Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only
Japanese definitions
Kanji in this word
English equivalents
See also
