窄める

The transitive form of 窄む (subomu, “to become tapered, pulled together, scrunched up”), from the adjective 窄い (suboi, “tapered, pulled together, scrunched up”) + verb suffix む (mu, “to be like, to become like”).

Root stem /subo-/ is semantically and phonetically similar to root /ɕibo/ (a pucker or wrinkle; see 皺 (shibo)).

• Kun’yomi
  • (Tokyo) つぼめる [tsùbómérú] (Heiban – [0])[1]
  • (Tokyo) つぼめ​る [tsùbóméꜜrù] (Nakadaka – [3])[1]
  • IPA^(key): [t͡sɨᵝbo̞me̞ɾɯ̟ᵝ]

窄める (transitive, ichidan conjugation, hiragana すぼめる, rōmaji subomeru)

1. to make something become tapered, pulled together, scrunched up:
   1. to shut or fold (an umbrella)
   2. to shrug (one's shoulders)
   3. to pucker or purse (one's lips)

/subomeru/ and /tsubomeru/ are mostly identical, differing in connotation: /subomeru/ implies bringing together or scrunching up something that was broad and spreading, as in cloth or one's mouth; whereas /tsubomeru/ implies closing down or narrowing something that was open wide, as an umbrella. This distinction is minor, however.

• 窄 (すぼ)まる (subomaru): to become tapered, pulled together, scrunched up

The transitive form of 窄む (tsubomu, “to be narrowed, scrunched up”), probably as a shift from /subomu/ influenced by 蕾む / 莟む (tsubomu, “to form a bud”), ultimately from root /t͡subo/ (a container, a vessel)　+ verb suffix む (mu, “to be like, to become like”): see 壺 (tsubo, “a vessel, a basin, a container”).

• Kun’yomi
  • (Tokyo) つぼめる [tsùbómérú] (Heiban – [0])[1]
  • IPA^(key): [t͡sɨᵝbo̞me̞ɾɯ̟ᵝ]

窄める (transitive, ichidan conjugation, hiragana つぼめる, rōmaji tsubomeru)

1. to narrow something, to scrunch something up:
   1. to shut or fold (an umbrella)
   2. to shrug (one's shoulders)
   3. to pucker or purse (one's lips)

/subomeru/ and /tsubomeru/ are mostly identical, differing in connotation: /subomeru/ implies bringing together or scrunching up something that was broad and spreading, as in cloth or one's mouth; whereas /tsubomeru/ implies closing down or narrowing something that was open wide, as an umbrella. This distinction is minor, however.

• 窄 (つぼ)まる (tsubomaru): to become narrowed, pulled together, scrunched up