ねじれる

ね

じ

れ

る

JLPTN1Freq.FrequencyTop 20,000

ねじれる · ichidan verb

Form	Positive	Negative
Dictionary	ねじれる	ねじれない
Polite	ねじれます	ねじれません
Past polite	ねじれました	ねじれませんでした
Past	ねじれた	ねじれなかった
Te-form	ねじれて	ねじれないで
Desire	ねじれたい	ねじれたくない
Potential	ねじれられるalso ねじれれる	ねじれられないalso ねじれれない
Passive	ねじれられる	ねじれられない
Causative	ねじれさせる	ねじれさせない
Causative passive	ねじれさせられる	ねじれさせられない
Volitional	ねじれよう
Polite volitional	ねじれましょう
Imperative	ねじれろ	ねじれるな
Conditional	ねじれれば	ねじれなければ
Tara conditional	ねじれたら	ねじれなかったら

Pairs withねじる

Meanings

ichidan verb, intransitive verb

get twisted; get bent; get warped

usually written using kana alone

Physical twisting or warping of objects, such as wires, frames, or shapes.

針はり金がねがねじれて使つかいにくくなった。
The wire got twisted and became hard to use.
湿しっ気けでドアの枠わくがねじれてしまった。
The door frame warped from the humidity.

ichidan verb, intransitive verb

become twisted; become warped; become perverse

usually written using kana alone

Describes a mind, personality, or relationship becoming distorted, perverse, or contrary.

彼かれは心こころがねじれていて、人ひとの不ふ幸こうを喜よろこぶ。
His mind is twisted; he takes pleasure in others' misfortune.
二人ふたりの関かん係けいはねじれて、もう修しゅう復ふくできない。
Their relationship has become warped and can no longer be repaired.

ichidan verb, intransitive verb

become complicated; become strained; get tangled

usually written using kana alone

Used for situations, plans, or matters becoming tangled, strained, or complicated, often with a negative nuance.

話はなしがねじれて、収しゅう拾しゅうがつかなくなった。
The discussion got tangled and became uncontrollable.
交こう渉しょうがねじれて、合ごう意いに至いたらなかった。
The negotiations became strained and did not reach an agreement.

See all 22 example sentences ›

Usage patterns

〈物もの〉が捩ねじれるfor an object (wire, cord, etc.) to become twisted
ロープが捩ねじれて絡からんでしまった。
The rope got twisted and tangled up.
〈人ひと〉の性せい格かくが捩ねじれるfor someone's personality to become twisted or perverse
彼かれは性せい格かくが捩ねじれていて、素す直なおに人ひとを褒ほめられない。
He has such a twisted personality that he can't compliment people honestly.
国こっ会かいが捩ねじれるfor the Diet (parliament) to become deadlocked with control split between parties
参さん議ぎ院いん選せん挙きょの結けっ果か、国こっ会かいがねじれてしまった。
As a result of the upper house election, the Diet ended up deadlocked between the two chambers.
体からだが捩ねじれるfor one's body to twist (e.g. from laughing or pain)
あまりのおかしさに体からだが捩ねじれた。
I was laughing so hard my body twisted up.

Kanji

捩screw, twist, wrench
捻twirl, twist, play with
拗crooked, twisted, distorted

Transitive / intransitive

ねじるN2sense 1
捩る is the transitive verb for actively twisting something, while 捩れる is the intransitive result of becoming twisted.

Related words

ひずむ sense 1
歪む describes an object becoming warped or distorted in shape, overlapping with 捩れる's physical sense but without the specific idea of a twisting motion.
こじれるN1sense 3
こじれる and 捩れる both describe a situation becoming complicated, but こじれる implies a stronger, harder-to-fix worsening, especially in relationships or negotiations.
曲まがるN5sense 2
曲がる can describe a personality that has become 'bent' or twisted (性格が曲がる), similar to 捩れる's figurative sense, but it emphasizes a single bend rather than an intricate twist.
もつれるN1sense 3
もつれる describes things (like threads, words, or relationships) becoming tangled or entangled, similar to 捩れる's sense of a strained, complicated situation but with more focus on entanglement than distortion.
歪ゆがむN1
ねじれる emphasizes a twisting motion along an axis, while 歪む more broadly covers any loss of proper shape.

Opposites

解とけるN3sense 3
解ける means a tangled or strained situation gets resolved or untangled, the opposite of 捩れる's sense of a matter becoming complicated or strained.

Word family

ねじれ
twist; wrench; distortion; kink; warp · torsion

Written forms

ねじれるUsage81%
Kana spelling is standard; kanji forms are rare and may be unfamiliar to many readers.
捻ねじれるUsage9%
Alternate kanji form without じ; rare.
捩ねじれるUsage5%
Alternate kanji form without じ; rare.
捻ねじれるUsage3%
Kanji form with 捻; listed in some dictionaries but uncommon in modern writing.
捩ねじれるUsage3%
Kanji form with 捩; rare and may not be recognized by many readers.
拗ねじれる
Kanji form with 拗; rare and may be confused with 拗れる (こじれる).

Etymology

Derived from the transitive verb ねじる (to twist) with the intransitive suffix 〜れる. The kanji forms are ateji and rarely used; the word is almost always written in kana.