裂く・割く|さくsaku[1]atamadaka (head-high)
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Which spelling to use
裂く裂く is the more common and standard written form, so learners are more likely to encounter it in Japanese writing than 割く.
割く割く is less common than 裂く, but it is the form beginners are advised to use as their default written choice.
Definitions
- godan verb, transitive verbto tear; to rip upその少女はその布を裂いた。↗The girl tore the cloth.
- godan verb, transitive verbto cut up; to cleave; to cut open (esp. the abdomen)
- godan verb, transitive verbto forcibly separate (e.g. two lovers)
- godan verb, transitive verbto spare (time, money, etc.); to use part of something
- godan verb, transitive verbto have a tattoo in the corner of one's eye
Conjugation
| Dictionary form | 裂く（さく） |
|---|---|
| Polite (masu) | 裂きます（さきます） |
| Negative (nai) | 裂かない（さかない） |
| polite (masen) | 裂きません（さきません） |
| classical zu / nu | 裂かず・裂かぬ（さかず・さかぬ） |
| Past (ta) | 裂いた（さいた） |
| polite (mashita) | 裂きました（さきました） |
| Past negative (nakatta) | 裂かなかった（さかなかった） |
| polite (masen deshita) | 裂きませんでした（さきませんでした） |
| Te form | 裂いて（さいて） |
| Potential | 裂ける（さける） |
| Passive | 裂かれる（さかれる） |
| Causative | 裂かせる（さかせる） |
| Causative passive | 裂かせられる・裂かされる（さかせられる・さかされる） |
| Conditional (ba) | 裂けば（さけば） |
| tara | 裂いたら（さいたら） |
| Volitional | 裂こう（さこう） |
| polite (mashou) | 裂きましょう（さきましょう） |
| Imperative | 裂け（さけ） |
Common forms generated by rule; see the senses for honorific or irregular usage.
Transitive / intransitive pair
布が裂ける
布を裂く
裂ける focuses on the event or resulting state affecting 布, as in 布が裂ける; 裂く foregrounds the agent acting on 布, as in 布を裂く.
Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only
Synonyms & antonyms
- Synonym裂けるさけるNeutralIntransitive: things split or burst on their own, as in 「布が裂ける」. 「裂く」 is transitive — you actively tear something apart.
- Synonym破るやぶるNeutralAs 破る, it also covers dividing a whole into parts, as in 「ケーキを四つに割る」; 「裂く」 is forceful tearing or cutting open, with no sense of equal parts.
- Synonym破くやぶくCasualColloquial: tearing paper or clothes, with the focus on the damage. 「裂く」 stresses forceful tearing to separate, and can also mean cutting open or splitting up a couple.
- Related割るわるNeutralFor breaking or cutting hard objects, and for division in math, as in 「皿を割る」. 「裂く」 is mostly for tearing cloth, paper and the like.
- Antonym合わせるあわせるNeutralOpposite to 「裂く」 in the sense of separating vs. joining: it brings separated things together, as in 「手を合わせる」.
Use 「裂く」 for tearing cloth into strips, cutting open, or splitting up a couple; to set aside time, write 「時間を割く」. For something splitting on its own, say 「裂ける」; for ripping, 「破く」; for breaking or splitting hard things, 「割る」.
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
