掻い潜る

• 読み: かいくぐる
• ローマ字: kaikuguru
• 漢字の分解: 掻 (kou/ka) — scratch, scrape (intensifier prefix); 潜 (sen/kuguru) — slip through, submerge, hide
• 発音: /ka.i.kɯ.ɡɯ.ɾɯ/

意味

To dodge; to evade; to slip through (surveillance, rules, or obstacles).

A Group 1 (godan) compound verb combining the intensifying prefix 掻い- (from 掻く) and 潜る (to slip under, to dive through). Conjugates as 掻い潜ら-ない, 掻い潜り-ます. Often used figuratively to describe evading laws, enemy surveillance, or social constraints by cleverness or nimbleness.

例文

1. 密輸業者たちは厳しい税関検査を掻い潜って荷物を持ち込んだ。
2. 彼は規制の網の目を巧みに掻い潜り、利益を上げ続けた。
3. 諜報員は敵の監視を掻い潜って安全に国境を越えた。

使い方ガイド

場面: crime, espionage, journalism, formal writing

トーン: neutral

起源と歴史

Compound of the intensifying prefix 掻い- (from 掻く, to scratch or scrape forcefully) and 潜る (kuguru, to slip through, to dive under a barrier). The combined image is of forcefully pushing through a tight gap.

文化的背景

時代: Modern

世代: Adults

社会的背景: Educated