What does 裂く mean?
裂く is a Japanese verb meaning “to tear (something)” or “to rip” in English. It can also be translated as “to spare (time)” depending on context. It is written as 裂く in kanji, さく in hiragana, and saku in romaji. This word is part of JLPT N3 vocabulary.
Example sentences
紙を二つに裂いた。
I tore the paper in two.
彼は手紙を細かく裂いて捨てた。
He tore the letter into small pieces and threw it away.
Conjugation of 裂く
| Affirmative | Negative | |
|---|---|---|
| Plain | 裂くさく | 裂かないさかない |
| Plain past | 裂いたさいた | 裂かなかったさかなかった |
| Polite | 裂きますさきます | 裂きませんさきません |
| Polite past | 裂きましたさきました | 裂きませんでしたさきませんでした |
Other forms
Te-form裂いてさいて
Potential裂けるさける
Passive裂かれるさかれる
Volitional裂こうさこう
Causative裂かせるさかせる
Conditional裂けばさけば
,
Intransitive partner
裂く (someone does it)·裂ける (it happens by itself)
裂く describes someone doing something to a thing. 裂ける describes it happening by itself. Japanese keeps these apart where English often uses one verb for both.