怖おじ気けづく

お

じ

け

づ

く

Meanings

1

godan verb (-ku), intransitive verb

get scared; lose one's nerve; chicken out

Intransitive verb describing the moment one becomes frightened or intimidated, often causing hesitation or withdrawal. Casual to neutral register.

彼かれは高たかい所ところに登のぼったら怖おじ気けづいて動うごけなくなった。
When he climbed to a high place, he got scared and couldn't move.

本ほん番ばん前まえに怖おじ気けづいてしまった。

I lost my nerve right before the performance.

相あい手ての迫はく力りょくに怖おじ気けづいて言いい返かえせなかった。

I was intimidated by the opponent's force and couldn't talk back.

Written forms

怖おじ気けづく
Standard kanji spelling.
怖おじ気けづく
Variant with じ explicitly written.
怖おじ気け付づく
Variant using 付く instead of づく.
怖おじ気け付づく
Variant with じ and 付く.

Kanji

怖dreadful, be frightened, fearful
気spirit, mind, air
付adhere, attach, refer to

Similar words

怖こわがる
怖がる means 'to be scared of something' and is transitive, often taking an object marked with を. 怖気づく is intransitive and focuses on the sudden onset of fear that makes one hesitate or back down.
びびる
びびる is a more casual, slangy intransitive verb for 'to get scared' or 'to freak out'. 怖気づく implies a loss of nerve in a situation requiring courage, while びびる can be used for any sudden fright.

Etymology

Compound of 怖気 (read おじけ, 'fear, dread') + つく (a suffix meaning 'to become'). The つく changes to づく due to rendaku. The exact origin of おじけ is uncertain, but it is related to 怖じる (おじる, 'to fear').