しさる

also: しざる

し

さ

る

Meanings

1

godan verb (-ru), intransitive verb

step back; walk backwards

formal or literaryusually written using kana alone

Formal or literary term for stepping backward or retreating; often used in historical or ceremonial contexts. Compare with 退く (しりぞく), which is more common for 'withdraw' or 'retreat'.

Written forms

しさるUsage13%
Usually written in kana; the kanji form 退る is rare and may be confused with other readings.
退るUsage88%
- しさる
  Kanji form is rare and may be misread as しりぞく or のく; use kana for clarity.
- しざる
しざる
Alternate reading with rendaku; less common than しさる.

Kanji

退retreat, withdraw, retire

Similar words

退しりぞく
しりぞく is the common verb for 'withdraw', 'retreat', or 'step down', while しさる is a formal/literary variant specifically for stepping backward physically.
後退あとずさる
あとずさる also means 'step back' but is more common in modern Japanese; しさる is more literary and less frequent.

Etymology

Derived from 退る (しさる), a native Japanese verb. The kanji 退 means 'retreat' or 'withdraw'. The reading しざる is a rendaku variant of しさる.