凹む

• 読み: へこむ
• ローマ字: hekomu
• 漢字の分解: 凹 (heko): concave, dented, sunken
• 発音: /he.ko.mɯ/

意味

To feel depressed, down, or dejected — like an emotional dent has been put in you.

The kanji 凹 literally means 'concave' or 'dented,' and the slang perfectly captures the feeling of being emotionally dented or crushed. It is stronger than 萎える (deflated) but lighter than clinical depression. 凹む is the go-to casual word for feeling down after a failure, rejection, or bad news. It implies a temporary state that one will eventually bounce back from.

例文

1. 試験に落ちてかなり凹んでる。
2. 彼氏に振られて一週間凹んでた。
3. 些細なことで凹むタイプだから気にしないで。

使い方ガイド

場面: friends, texting, casual conversation

トーン: dejected, down, self-pitying

正しい言い方

• ちょっと凹んでるから優しくして。 (I'm a bit down so be nice to me.)
• 凹むことあっても時間が解決するよ。 (Even when you feel down, time will fix it.)

避ける言い方

• 深刻な精神的問題を「凹んでる」と軽く言わない (Don't casually say 'hekon deru' about someone with serious mental health issues — it trivializes the condition)

よくある間違い

• Confusing 凹む with its physical meaning (to dent a surface) in casual conversation — context usually makes the emotional meaning clear
• Using 凹む for fleeting annoyance — it implies a deeper, more lasting down feeling than 萎える

起源と歴史

From the verb 凹む (hekomu, to become dented/concave). The physical image of a surface being pushed inward became a metaphor for emotional deflation. The slang usage has been common since the 1990s.

文化的背景

時代: 1990s slang usage, older physical meaning

世代: All ages in casual speech

社会的背景: Universal informal

地域メモ: Used across Japan. The kanji 凹 visually resembles a dent, making it a satisfyingly literal metaphor.