刻む

• 読み: きざむ
• ローマ字: kizamu
• 漢字の分解: 刻 (koku) — engrave, carve, a unit of time, mark
• 発音: /ki.za.mɯ/

意味

To carve; to engrave; to mince (food); to mark or beat (time); to imprint deeply in the mind or heart.

A Group 1 (godan) verb with a broad range of uses. Literal uses include carving stone or wood, mincing vegetables finely, and marking the passage of time. The figurative use — imprinting a memory or experience deeply — is particularly powerful in literary and formal contexts. Widely used idiomatic expressions include 心に刻む (to engrave on one's heart) and 歴史に刻む (to carve into history). The kanji 刻 carries the dual meaning of both cutting and measuring time.

例文

1. その碑には戦没者の名前が一人ひとり丁寧に刻まれていた。
2. 玉ねぎをみじん切りに刻んでから、弱火でじっくりと炒める。
3. あの日の出来事は、彼女の記憶に深く刻まれて消えることはなかった。

使い方ガイド

場面: cooking, literature, memorials, memory, craftsmanship

トーン: neutral

起源と歴史

From Old Japanese, with the kanji 刻 carrying the meanings of cutting into a surface, carving a mark, and measuring time. The dual use reflects the ancient link between notching a surface to record the passage of time.

文化的背景

時代: Classical

世代: All ages

社会的背景: All classes