What does 傾く mean?
傾く is a Japanese verb meaning “to lean, to tilt” in English. It can also be translated as “to decline in fortunes” depending on context. It is written as 傾く in kanji, かたむく in hiragana, and katamuku in romaji. This word is part of JLPT N2 vocabulary.
Example sentences
そのポールは左に傾いた。
The pole inclined to the left.
太陽が西に傾いた。
The sun declined westward.
Conjugation of 傾く
| Affirmative | Negative | |
|---|---|---|
| Plain | 傾くかたむく | 傾かないかたむかない |
| Plain past | 傾いたかたむいた | 傾かなかったかたむかなかった |
| Polite | 傾きますかたむきます | 傾きませんかたむきません |
| Polite past | 傾きましたかたむきました | 傾きませんでしたかたむきませんでした |
Other forms
Te-form傾いてかたむいて
Potential傾けるかたむける
Passive傾かれるかたむかれる
Volitional傾こうかたむこう
Causative傾かせるかたむかせる
Conditional傾けばかたむけば
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Transitive partner
傾く (it happens by itself)·傾ける (someone does it)
傾く describes something happening by itself. 傾ける describes someone doing it to something. Japanese keeps these apart where English often uses one verb for both.