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拓く (ひらく) Japanese meaning | Kotomora
Freq. Frequency Top 50,000 Conjugation Meanings 1
godan verb (-ku), transitive verb
open up ; clear ; break up
Used for physically opening or clearing a path, road, or land, often with a sense of pioneering effort. Cross-referenced with 開く (ひらく) sense 9, which covers similar meanings.
See also: 開く (ひらく)
They cleared the wasteland and turned it into rice paddies.
Kanji 拓 clear (the land), open, break up (land) Similar words 開ひら く 開く is the general verb for opening (doors, books, events, etc.), while 拓く is specifically for opening up or clearing physical spaces like land or paths, often with a pioneering nuance.
Etymology The kanji 拓 means 'clear land' or 'open up', and the reading ひらく is shared with 開く. The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the spelling is conventionally associated with pioneering and land-clearing meanings.