縮む

• 読み: ちぢむ
• ローマ字: chidimu
• 漢字の分解: 縮 (shuku/chidi) — shrink, contract, reduce
• 発音: /tɕi.dʑi.mɯ/

意味

To shrink; to contract; to diminish in size. Describes something becoming physically smaller.

A Group 1 (godan) intransitive verb meaning to physically shrink or contract. While similar to 縮まる, 縮む focuses more on the physical contraction of objects or materials rather than abstract distances. Common for describing fabric shrinking in the wash, muscles contracting, or people hunching up from cold. Also used figuratively for cowering in fear.

例文

1. この生地は洗うと縮むので注意してください。
2. 寒さで体が縮む思いだった。
3. ゴムが古くなって縮んでしまった。

使い方ガイド

場面: laundry, materials, physical sensations

トーン: practical

起源と歴史

From the same kanji 縮 (shrink, contract) as 縮まる. The む ending gives a more basic, physical sense of contraction, while まる emphasises the process of becoming shorter or narrower.

文化的背景

時代: Classical

世代: All ages

社会的背景: Universal