凝こらす

こ

ら

す

JLPTN1Freq.FrequencyTop 50,000

凝らす · godan verb (-su)

Form	Positive	Negative
Dictionary	凝こらす	凝こらさない
Polite	凝こらします	凝こらしません
Past polite	凝こらしました	凝こらしませんでした
Past	凝こらした	凝こらさなかった
Te-form	凝こらして	凝こらさないで
Desire	凝こらしたい	凝こらしたくない
Potential	凝こらせる	凝こらせない
Passive	凝こらされる	凝こらされない
Causative	凝こらさせる	凝こらさせない
Causative passive	凝こらさせられる	凝こらさせられない
Volitional	凝こらそう
Polite volitional	凝こらしましょう
Imperative	凝こらせ	凝こらすな
Conditional	凝こらせば	凝こらさなければ
Tara conditional	凝こらしたら	凝こらさなかったら

Pairs with凝る

Meanings

godan verb (-su), transitive verb

concentrate; focus; devote

Used for directing mental effort, attention, or creativity onto something. Common with nouns like 工夫, 注意, 努力, 心, 趣向.

彼かれは新あたらしいデザインに工く夫ふうを凝こらした。
He put a lot of ingenuity into the new design.
細さい部ぶにまで注ちゅう意いを凝こらして仕し上あげた。
I finished it with great attention to detail.

godan verb (-su), transitive verb

stiffen; tense up

Used for making a body part or posture rigid, often in set phrases like 肩を凝らす or 身を凝らす. Less common than sense 1.

寒さむさで肩かたを凝こらしてしまった。
My shoulders stiffened up from the cold.

See all 38 example sentences ›

Usage patterns

心こころを凝こらすto pour one's heart/focus into something
彼かの女じょは作さく品ひん作づくりに心こころを凝こらした。
She poured her heart into creating the work.
肩かたを凝こらすto tense up one's shoulders (from stress or strain)
緊きん張ちょうのあまり肩かたを凝こらしてしまった。
I was so nervous that my shoulders tensed up.
努ど力りょくを凝こらすto concentrate one's efforts on something
彼かれはプロジェクトの成せい功こうに努ど力りょくを凝こらした。
He concentrated his efforts on making the project succeed.
身みを凝こらすto tense one's whole body (e.g. in alertness)
彼かれは物もの音おとを聞きいて身みを凝こらした。
He tensed his whole body upon hearing the noise.
注ちゅう意いを凝こらすto focus one's attention intently on something
彼かれは小ちいさな物もの音おとにも注ちゅう意いを凝こらした。
He focused his attention intently even on the smallest sound.

Expressions

息いきを凝こらすhold one's breath
目めを凝こらすstrain one's eyes; look closely; stare at
瞳ひとみを凝こらすstrain one's eyes; stare intently
工く夫ふうを凝こらすexercise one's ingenuity; devise an ingenious plan
趣しゅ向こうを凝こらすdevise an elaborate plan; exercise ingenuity; work out a scheme
意い匠しょうを凝こらしたelaborately designed; with great ingenuity in design

Kanji

凝congeal, freeze, stiff

Transitive / intransitive

凝こるN2
凝る is the intransitive counterpart meaning to become absorbed in something or to become stiff, while 凝らす is the transitive form meaning to make oneself focus or to make something stiff.

Related words

集しゅう中ちゅうN3sense 1
集中する is the general, everyday verb for focusing attention or effort, while 凝らす is more literary and pairs with specific nouns like 工夫・注意・心.
傾かたむけるN1sense 1
傾ける (as in 心を傾ける) means to devote one's heart or attention to something, overlapping with 凝らす but used more broadly for effort and interest.
尽つくすN2sense 1
尽くす (as in 工夫を尽くす) stresses exhausting every idea or resource, whereas 凝らす focuses on intensely channeling effort or creativity into one thing.

Opposites

緩ゆるめるN1sense 2
緩める means to loosen or relax a part of the body, the opposite of 凝らす's sense of making a body part stiff and tense.

Don't confuse with

凝ぎょう縮しゅく
凝縮する shares the kanji 凝 with 凝らす but means to condense or compress physically, not to concentrate mental effort or stiffen a body part.

Written forms

凝こらすUsage63%
Standard kanji spelling.
こらすUsage37%

Etymology

Transitive form of 凝る (こる), from classical verb 凝る (こる) meaning 'to become stiff, to concentrate'. The transitive suffix す yields the meaning 'to make stiff, to concentrate (one's mind/effort)'.