What does 沈む mean?
沈む is a Japanese verb meaning “to sink” or “to set (of the sun)” in English. It can also be translated as “to feel down” depending on context. It is written as 沈む in kanji, しずむ in hiragana, and shizumu in romaji. This word is part of JLPT N3 vocabulary.
Example sentences
船がゆっくりと沈んでいった。
The ship slowly sank.
太陽が西の空に沈んだ。
The sun set in the western sky.
Conjugation of 沈む
| Affirmative | Negative | |
|---|---|---|
| Plain | 沈むしずむ | 沈まないしずまない |
| Plain past | 沈んだしずんだ | 沈まなかったしずまなかった |
| Polite | 沈みますしずみます | 沈みませんしずみません |
| Polite past | 沈みましたしずみました | 沈みませんでしたしずみませんでした |
Other forms
Te-form沈んでしずんで
Potential沈めるしずめる
Passive沈まれるしずまれる
Volitional沈もうしずもう
Causative沈ませるしずませる
Conditional沈めばしずめば
,
Transitive partner
沈む (it happens by itself)·沈める (someone does it)
沈む describes something happening by itself. 沈める describes someone doing it to something. Japanese keeps these apart where English often uses one verb for both.