威い張ばる

also: えばる

い

ば

る

Common wordJLPTN2Freq.FrequencyTop 50,000

威張る · godan verb (-ru)

Form	Positive	Negative
Dictionary	威い張ばる	威い張ばらない
Polite	威い張ばります	威い張ばりません
Past polite	威い張ばりました	威い張ばりませんでした
Past	威い張ばった	威い張ばらなかった
Te-form	威い張ばって	威い張ばらないで
Desire	威い張ばりたい	威い張ばりたくない
Potential	威い張ばれる	威い張ばれない
Passive	威い張ばられる	威い張ばられない
Causative	威い張ばらせる	威い張ばらせない
Causative passive	威い張ばらせられるalso 威い張ばらされる	威い張ばらせられないalso 威い張ばらされない
Volitional	威い張ばろう
Polite volitional	威い張ばりましょう
Imperative	威い張ばれ	威い張ばるな
Conditional	威い張ばれば	威い張ばらなければ
Tara conditional	威い張ばったら	威い張ばらなかったら

Meanings

godan verb (-ru), intransitive verb

act big; throw one's weight around; be bossy

Describes someone behaving arrogantly, lording it over others, or acting self-important. Often used in negative contexts.

彼かれは上じょう司しの前まえではおとなしいが、部ぶ下かには威い張ばる。
He's meek in front of his boss, but he acts big with his subordinates.
そんなに威い張ばらなくてもいいじゃないか。
You don't have to be so bossy, do you?

See all 33 example sentences ›

Usage patterns

〈人ひと〉に威い張ばるto lord it over someone / boss someone around
彼かれは部ぶ下かにいつも威い張ばっている。
He's always bossing his subordinates around.
〈事こと〉のことで威い張ばるto act superior about something
彼かれは成せい績せきのことで威い張ばっている。
He's showing off arrogantly about his grades.
威い張ばった態たい度どan arrogant, high-handed attitude
新あたらしい上じょう司しは威い張ばった態たい度どで部ぶ下かに接せっする。
The new boss treats his subordinates with an arrogant attitude.

Kanji

威intimidate, dignity, majesty
張counter for bows & stringed instruments, stretch, spread

Related words· 7

偉えらぶる
偉ぶる and 威張る both mean to act superior, but 偉ぶる emphasizes putting on airs of importance while 威張る emphasizes bossy, domineering behavior toward others.
自じ慢まんN3
自慢する means to boast about one's own achievements or possessions, while 威張る focuses on domineering, superior behavior toward others.
傲ごう慢まん
傲慢 is a na-adjective describing an arrogant personality or attitude, whereas 威張る is a verb describing the act of behaving arrogantly.
力りきむN1
威張る means to boast or act arrogant toward others, while 力む in this sense means putting on a bold front to seem tougher or more confident than one is.

Show 3 more

鼻はなにかけるN1
威張る focuses on acting bossy or throwing one's weight around, whereas 鼻にかける specifically means boasting about a particular achievement or possession.
胸むねを張はるN2
威張る means to act bossy or arrogant, whereas 胸を張る can express justified pride or confidence without necessarily being overbearing.
誇ほこるN1
威張る carries a negative nuance of acting arrogant or bossy, while 誇る is neutral or even positive, focusing on legitimate pride.

Opposites

謙けん遜そんN2
謙遜する means to be modest or humble, the opposite of 威張る's arrogant, domineering behavior.
頭あたまを下さげるN2
威張る means to act arrogantly or boastfully, the opposite of the humility shown by 頭を下げる.

Don't confuse with

頑がん張ばるN5
頑張る (to try hard, persevere) and 威張る (to act arrogantly) look and sound similar to learners but have completely unrelated meanings.
見み張はるN1
見張る (to keep watch, stand guard) shares the kanji 張る with 威張る (to act arrogantly) but means something entirely different.

Word family

大おお威い張ばり
bragging; showing off; pride
威い張ばり屋や
arrogant person; overbearing person; braggart
空から威い張ばり
bluffing; bluster; bravado
いばりんぼう
bossy person; braggart; overbearing person
威い張ばり腐くさる
throw one's weight around; act high and mighty; be puffed up
威い張ばり散ちらす
throw one's weight around; lord it over; domineer

Built from

威い+張はる

Written forms

威張るUsage70%
- いばる
  Standard kanji spelling.
- えばる
いばるUsage28%
Kana spelling is common in informal writing.
えばるUsage2%
Dialectal or colloquial variant; less common than いばる.

Etymology

Compound of 威 (authority, dignity) and 張る (to stretch, to put on). The historical derivation is uncertain, but the spelling conventionally associates authority with an inflated or overbearing attitude.