ずば抜ぬける

ず

ば

ぬ

け

る

Freq.FrequencyTop 50,000

ずば抜ける · ichidan verb

Form	Positive	Negative
Dictionary	ずば抜ぬける	ずば抜ぬけない
Polite	ずば抜ぬけます	ずば抜ぬけません
Past polite	ずば抜ぬけました	ずば抜ぬけませんでした
Past	ずば抜ぬけた	ずば抜ぬけなかった
Te-form	ずば抜ぬけて	ずば抜ぬけないで
Desire	ずば抜ぬけたい	ずば抜ぬけたくない
Potential	ずば抜ぬけられるalso ずば抜ぬけれる	ずば抜ぬけられないalso ずば抜ぬけれない
Passive	ずば抜ぬけられる	ずば抜ぬけられない
Causative	ずば抜ぬけさせる	ずば抜ぬけさせない
Causative passive	ずば抜ぬけさせられる	ずば抜ぬけさせられない
Volitional	ずば抜ぬけよう
Polite volitional	ずば抜ぬけましょう
Imperative	ずば抜ぬけろ	ずば抜ぬけるな
Conditional	ずば抜ぬければ	ずば抜ぬけなければ
Tara conditional	ずば抜ぬけたら	ずば抜ぬけなかったら

Meanings

ichidan verb, intransitive verb

stand out; be outstanding; be a cut above

Describes someone or something that is markedly superior to others in a group; often used in the ずば抜けて～ form as an adverb meaning 'by far' or 'exceptionally'.

彼かれはクラスの中なかでずば抜ぬけて成せい績せきがいい。
He stands out in the class with exceptionally good grades.
あの選せん手しゅは足あしの速はやさがずば抜ぬけている。
That athlete is outstanding in terms of running speed.

See all 12 example sentences ›

Kanji

抜slip out, extract, pull out

Related words

抜ぬきん出でる
Similar meaning of 'to excel' or 'to stand out', but 抜きん出る is slightly more formal and less colloquial than ずば抜ける.
飛とび抜ぬける
Also means 'to be head and shoulders above others'; 飛び抜ける often implies a more dynamic or energetic leap ahead, while ずば抜ける can feel more matter-of-fact.

Written forms

ずば抜ぬけるUsage63%
Standard kanji-kana mixed spelling.
ずばぬけるUsage22%
ズバ抜ぬけるUsage16%
Katakana variant of the first element, sometimes used for emphasis or in informal writing.

Etymology

The prefix ずば- is an intensifier possibly related to the onomatopoeia ずばり (decisively, sharply), combined with 抜ける (to come out, to be omitted), giving the sense of 'to stick out sharply from the rest'. The exact derivation is uncertain.