たかる

• Reading: たかる
• Romaji: takaru
• Pronunciation: /ta.ka.ɾɯ/

Meaning

To swarm; to mob; to extort money; to sponge off someone; to cadge.

A Group 1 (godan) verb with two distinct but related senses. In the literal sense it means to swarm or gather in a crowd, typically of insects or people around something. In the colloquial sense it means to extort, cadge, or persistently sponge off someone financially. Both senses imply unwanted, parasitic behaviour. Written in hiragana as it has no standard kanji form in modern usage.

Examples

1. 甘い匂いに引き寄せられた蠅が食べ物にたかり、台所は不衛生な状態になっていた。 Attracted by the sweet smell, flies swarmed over the food, leaving the kitchen in an unsanitary state.
2. 彼はいつも仲間にたかってばかりで、自分で財布を出したことが一度もない。 He is always sponging off his friends and has never once reached for his own wallet.
3. 有名人が現れると、サインを求めるファンがたちまちたかってきた。 When the celebrity appeared, fans clamouring for autographs instantly mobbed them.

Usage Guide

Context: daily life, colloquial speech, social criticism

Tone: negative

Origin & History

The etymology is uncertain. One theory links it to 高る (to rise, to swell), describing a crowd massing upward. The sponging sense likely developed from the image of a swarm feeding off a single source.

Cultural Context

Era: Edo–Present

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal