凝る (こる, koru) Japanese meaning: become stiff | Kotomora

凝こる

こ

る

Common wordJLPTN2Freq.FrequencyTop 20,000

凝る · godan verb (-ru)

Form	Positive	Negative
Dictionary	凝こる	凝こらない
Polite	凝こります	凝こりません
Past polite	凝こりました	凝こりませんでした
Past	凝こった	凝こらなかった
Te-form	凝こって	凝こらないで
Desire	凝こりたい	凝こりたくない
Potential	凝これる	凝これない
Passive	凝こられる	凝こられない
Causative	凝こらせる	凝こらせない
Causative passive	凝こらせられるalso 凝こらされる	凝こらせられないalso 凝こらされない
Volitional	凝ころう
Polite volitional	凝こりましょう
Imperative	凝これ	凝こるな
Conditional	凝これば	凝こらなければ
Tara conditional	凝こったら	凝こらなかったら

Pairs with凝らす

Meanings

godan verb (-ru), intransitive verb

become stiff; get tense

Used for muscles or body parts becoming stiff from tension, fatigue, or cold. Often appears as 肩が凝る (stiff shoulders).

パソコン作さ業ぎょうで肩かたが凝こった。

Kanji

凝congeal, freeze, stiff

Transitive / intransitive

凝こらすN1sense 2
凝らす is the transitive partner of 凝る, meaning to concentrate or devote effort into something (e.g. 工夫を凝らす), while 凝る is intransitive, describing the state of being absorbed or elaborate.

Related words

熱ねっ中ちゅうN3sense 2
熱中する is a general term for being enthusiastic about something, while 凝る implies a deeper, often obsessive personal involvement with a creative or detailed aspect.
こだわるN2sense 3
拘る focuses on being picky or sticking to a particular standard, often with a nuance of stubbornness, while 凝る emphasizes elaborate craftsmanship or careful attention to detail.

Opposites

緩ゆるむN1sense 1
緩む describes muscles relaxing or loosening, the opposite of 凝る, which describes them becoming stiff and tense.

Don't confuse with

懲こりるN1
懲りる means to learn a lesson and be discouraged from repeating something, while 凝る means to become absorbed in or elaborate about something; the words look and sound similar but are unrelated in meaning.
こごるN1
凝る written こる means to become engrossed in something or for muscles to grow stiff, a completely different word from こごる (to congeal) despite sharing the same kanji.
凝こごらすN1
凝る (こる) means 'to be absorbed in/enthusiastic about' something and is intransitive, whereas 凝らす is transitive and means 'to concentrate or devote (effort, attention) on something'.

Word family

凝こり性しょう
tendency to get deeply absorbed; perfectionism; fastidiousness · susceptibility to stiff shoulders
凝こり屋や
perfectionist; enthusiast; zealot
凝こり形がたち
over-concentrated shape; inefficient cluster of stones
凝こり出だす
get really into; become absorbed in

Written forms

凝こるUsage71%
Standard kanji spelling for all senses.
こるUsage29%
Kana spelling is common in casual writing, especially for the 'get absorbed in' sense.

Etymology

The kanji 凝 originally means 'to congeal' or 'to freeze', which extended metaphorically to muscles becoming stiff and later to the mind becoming fixed on something. The reading こる is native Japanese.

凝こる

Meanings

Usage patterns

Expressions