ばら撒まく

ば

ら

ま

く

Common wordJLPTN1Freq.FrequencyTop 50,000

ばら撒く · godan verb (-ku)

Form	Positive	Negative
Dictionary	ばら撒まく	ばら撒まかない
Polite	ばら撒まきます	ばら撒まきません
Past polite	ばら撒まきました	ばら撒まきませんでした
Past	ばら撒まいた	ばら撒まかなかった
Te-form	ばら撒まいて	ばら撒まかないで
Desire	ばら撒まきたい	ばら撒まきたくない
Potential	ばら撒まける	ばら撒まけない
Passive	ばら撒まかれる	ばら撒まかれない
Causative	ばら撒まかせる	ばら撒まかせない
Causative passive	ばら撒まかせられるalso ばら撒まかされる	ばら撒まかせられないalso ばら撒まかされない
Volitional	ばら撒まこう
Polite volitional	ばら撒まきましょう
Imperative	ばら撒まけ	ばら撒まくな
Conditional	ばら撒まけば	ばら撒まかなければ
Tara conditional	ばら撒まいたら	ばら撒まかなかったら

Meanings

godan verb (-ku), transitive verb

scatter; disseminate; spread

usually written using kana alone

Used for scattering physical items, spreading rumors, or disseminating information widely. Often implies a careless or indiscriminate action.

彼かれは公こう園えんでパンくずをばらまいた。
He scattered bread crumbs in the park.
誰だれかが変へんな噂うわさをばらまいている。
Someone is spreading a strange rumor.

godan verb (-ku), transitive verb

distribute widely; hand out freely; spend recklessly

usually written using kana alone

Often used for distributing leaflets, money, or gifts in a generous or wasteful manner. Can carry a negative nuance of indiscriminate or excessive giving.

選せん挙きょ前まえに候こう補ほ者しゃがビラをばらまいた。
The candidate distributed flyers widely before the election.
彼かれは給きゅう料りょうをばらまいて、すぐに金かねがなくなった。
He spent his salary recklessly and soon ran out of money.

See all 19 example sentences ›

Usage patterns

お金かねをばら撒まくto spend or hand out money recklessly
彼かれは選せん挙きょのために有ゆう権けん者しゃにお金かねをばら撒まいた。
He handed out money to voters for the election.
うわさをばら撒まくto spread rumors widely
誰だれかが彼かれについての悪わるいうわさをばら撒まいた。
Someone spread bad rumors about him.
ビラをばら撒まくto hand out flyers indiscriminately
駅えき前まえで新あたらしい店みせの宣せん伝でんビラをばら撒まいた。
They handed out flyers for a new store in front of the station.
種たねをばら撒まくto scatter seeds widely
農のう夫ふは畑はたけに種たねをばら撒まいた。
The farmer scattered seeds across the field.

Kanji

撒scatter, sprinkle, give them the slip
蒔sow (seeds)
散scatter, disperse, spend
播plant, sow

Related words

まくN2sense 1
撒く is the plain verb for scattering or sowing something, while ばら撒く adds a nuance of doing so widely and often carelessly or excessively.
配くばるN3sense 2
配る describes handing things out in an orderly, purposeful way, whereas ばら撒く suggests a more haphazard or indiscriminate distribution.
散ちらすN2sense 1
散らす focuses on scattering things so they become messy or dispersed, while ばら撒く emphasizes spreading them widely, often over a large area or audience.
配はい布ふN2sense 2
配布する is a neutral, formal term for distributing printed materials, while ばら撒く often carries a negative sense of reckless or excessive giving.

Opposites

回かい収しゅうN2sense 1
回収する means to collect or gather back, the opposite of ばら撒く's sense of scattering or handing things out widely.

Don't confuse with

散ちらかすN3sense 1
散らかす means to make a mess by leaving things scattered about, whereas ばら撒く refers to the deliberate act of spreading or distributing things widely.

Word family

ばらまき
broadcasting seeds; broadcast seeding · distributing widely; handing out freely; spending recklessly

Written forms

ばら撒まくUsage20%
Standard mixed kanji-kana spelling; it is the primary form.
ばらまくUsage69%
Kana spelling is common and matches usual-kana usage.
バラまくUsage9%
search-only kana form
ばら蒔まくUsage1%
search-only kanji form
散ばら蒔まくUsage<1%
rarely-used kanji form
Rare kanji form; it is rarely used.
散ばら播まく
rarely-used kanji form
Rare kanji form; it is rarely used.

Etymology

Compound of ばら (bara, 'scattered, loose') + 撒く (maku, 'to scatter, sow'). The prefix ばら is often used in mimetic or onomatopoeic words suggesting dispersion.