逼迫する

• Reading: ひっぱくする
• Romaji: hippakusuru
• Kanji breakdown: 逼 (hiku) — press close, approach a limit; 迫 (haku/sema) — press, urge
• Pronunciation: /hip.pa.kɯ sɯ.ɾɯ/

Meaning

To become critically strained; to be pressed to the limit; to reach a state of acute tightness. Used for finances, supplies, or situations under severe pressure.

A Group 3 (irregular する) verb. 逼迫 describes a state of extreme tightness or pressure approaching a breaking point. Unlike 困難 (difficulty) or 危機 (crisis), 逼迫 implies the situation is critically constrained and urgent. Common in news reporting and economic analysis: 財政が逼迫する (fiscal strain), 医療体制が逼迫する (the healthcare system is overwhelmed).

Examples

1. 戦時中の物資不足で国内の経済状況が著しく逼迫した。 Due to wartime shortages of supplies, the domestic economic situation became severely strained.
2. 財政が逼迫する中、政府は緊急の歳出削減を迫られた。 With finances critically tight, the government was forced to make emergency spending cuts.
3. 難民の流入で、地域の医療体制が逼迫しているという報告が届いた。 Reports came in that the influx of refugees was putting the region's healthcare system under acute strain.

Usage Guide

Context: economics, politics, military, crisis management

Tone: urgent

Origin & History

From 逼 (hiku, to press close and approach a limit) and 迫 (haku/semaru, to press or urge). Both kanji carry the sense of something pressing hard against a boundary. The compound has a Sino-Japanese origin and entered formal Japanese in the Meiji era.

Cultural Context

Era: Meiji–Modern

Generation: Adults

Social background: Educated