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打ち解ける (うちとける) Japanese meaning | Kotomora
JLPT N1 Freq. Frequency Top 50,000 Conjugation Meanings 1
ichidan verb, intransitive verb
open up ; become unreserved ; lower one's guard ; become friendly ; feel at ease
Describes a gradual process of relaxing formality or wariness with someone, often after initial distance. Commonly used with と (with someone) or in contexts of social interaction.
彼かれ と は すぐ に 打う ち 解と け て 、 友とも 達だち に なっ た 。
I quickly became friendly with him and we became friends.
Written forms 打う ち 解と ける Usage 66%
Standard kanji spelling; high priority in news and frequency lists.
うちとける Usage 28%
Kana spelling is common in casual writing and when the kanji is not needed.
うち 解と ける Usage 6%
search-only kanji form
Search-only kanji form; not commonly used in writing.
打うち 解と ける Usage 1%
search-only kanji form
Search-only kanji form; not commonly used in writing.
Similar words 親した しむ 親しむ means to become familiar with or attached to someone/something through repeated contact, while 打ち解ける focuses on the moment of relaxing one's guard and becoming open in a social situation.
心こころ を 開ひら く 心を開く is a more deliberate, often emotional act of opening one's heart, while 打ち解ける is a natural, often gradual process of becoming at ease with someone.
Etymology Compound of 打ち (uchi, prefix adding emphasis or a sense of 'thoroughly') and 解ける (tokeru, 'to come undone, be solved'). The combination suggests a thorough loosening of formality or tension.
