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背ける (そむける) Japanese meaning | Kotomora

背そむける

そ

む

け

る

Freq.FrequencyTop 20,000

Meanings

1

ichidan verb, transitive verb

turn away; avert

Used for deliberately turning one's face or eyes away from something, often to avoid seeing it or to show disinterest.

彼かれは私わたしから顔かおを背そむけた。
He turned his face away from me.
彼かの女じょはその光こう景けいから目めを背そむ

け

た

。

She averted her eyes from the scene.

Written forms

背そむけるUsage34%
Standard kanji spelling for this verb.
そむけるUsage66%
Kana spelling is common in everyday writing, especially when the kanji is not essential.

Kanji

背stature, height, back

Similar words

背そむく
背く is intransitive and means 'to go against' or 'to disobey', while 背ける is transitive and means 'to turn away' (one's face or eyes).

Etymology

The verb 背ける is derived from 背く (そむく, 'to turn one's back on') with the transitive suffix 〜ける, indicating a deliberate action of turning something away.