嘯く

• 読み: うそぶく
• ローマ字: usobuku
• 漢字の分解: 嘯 (shō/uso) — howl, feign, whistle
• 発音: /ɯ.so.bɯ.kɯ/

意味

To feign ignorance; to brag brazenly; to whistle or howl. In modern usage, primarily means to speak with cool arrogance or to make a brazen claim while pretending not to care.

A Group 1 (godan) verb with a wide semantic range. Its classical meaning is 'to howl or whistle' (like the wind or a beast). In modern literary usage it most commonly means either to feign ignorance when confronted with wrongdoing, or to make boastful claims with an air of nonchalance. The nuance of affected indifference — saying something outrageous as if it were completely normal — is central to the modern sense.

例文

1. 失敗を問い詰められた彼は、何も知らないと嘯いた。
2. 大言壮語を嘯く政治家に、有権者は呆れ果てた。
3. 自分は天才だと嘯く割に、具体的な成果は何もなかった。

使い方ガイド

場面: literature, journalism, politics, irony

トーン: negative

起源と歴史

From Old Japanese うそぶく, combining うそ (hollow sound, wind) and ぶく (blowing). Originally described the howling of wind or beasts; the sense shifted to humans who speak hollow, empty words — either false claims or boastful exaggerations delivered with brazen calm.

文化的背景

時代: Classical–Modern

世代: Adults

社会的背景: Universal