間引く|まびくmabiku[2]nakadaka (mid-high)
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Definitions
- godan verb, transitive verbto thin out (plants, seedlings, crops, etc.); to cull
- godan verb, transitive verbto run on a curtailed schedule; to cut down; to reduce
- godan verb, transitive verbto kill a newborn child (due to financial difficulties)
Conjugation
| Dictionary form | 間引く（まびく） |
|---|---|
| Polite (masu) | 間引きます（まびきます） |
| Negative (nai) | 間引かない（まびかない） |
| polite (masen) | 間引きません（まびきません） |
| classical zu / nu | 間引かず・間引かぬ（まびかず・まびかぬ） |
| Past (ta) | 間引いた（まびいた） |
| polite (mashita) | 間引きました（まびきました） |
| Past negative (nakatta) | 間引かなかった（まびかなかった） |
| polite (masen deshita) | 間引きませんでした（まびきませんでした） |
| Te form | 間引いて（まびいて） |
| Potential | 間引ける（まびける） |
| Passive | 間引かれる（まびかれる） |
| Causative | 間引かせる（まびかせる） |
| Causative passive | 間引かせられる・間引かされる（まびかせられる・まびかされる） |
| Conditional (ba) | 間引けば（まびけば） |
| tara | 間引いたら（まびいたら） |
| Volitional | 間引こう（まびこう） |
| polite (mashou) | 間引きましょう（まびきましょう） |
| Imperative | 間引け（まびけ） |
Common forms generated by rule; see the senses for honorific or irregular usage.
Synonyms & antonyms
- Synonym間引きまびきNeutralThe noun form of 「間引く」, used the same way: 「大根の間引き」 for thinning seedlings, 「間引き運転」 for running on a reduced schedule.
- Related淘汰とうたNeutralWeeds out what is unwanted in a survival-of-the-fittest sense, mostly people or companies, as in 「自然淘汰」; it does not refer to thinning seedlings.
- Related摘果てきかNeutralAn agricultural term for removing excess young fruit from fruit trees to regulate the crop; it applies only to fruit, not seedlings.
- Relatedふるい落とすふるいおとすNeutralA verb for sifting out with a sieve, or figuratively eliminating people in a selection, as in 「候補者をふるい落とす」.
- Related疎抜くうろぬくWrittenA verb with the same agricultural sense as 「間引く」—thinning out seedlings—but old-fashioned and rarely used.
- Antonym増やすふやすNeutralTo increase an amount or number; the direct opposite of 「間引く」 in its thinning-out and cutting-back senses.
Use 「間引く」 for thinning seedlings or cutting back schedules, as in 「間引き運転」. To weed out unqualified people, say 「ふるい落とす」 or 「淘汰」; for removing excess fruit from trees, use 「摘果」.
Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only
Japanese definitions
Kanji in this word
See also
