弄いじる

い

じ

る

Common wordJLPTN1Freq.FrequencyTop 5,000

弄る · godan verb (-ru)

Form	Positive	Negative
Dictionary	弄いじる	弄いじらない
Polite	弄いじります	弄いじりません
Past polite	弄いじりました	弄いじりませんでした
Past	弄いじった	弄いじらなかった
Te-form	弄いじって	弄いじらないで
Desire	弄いじりたい	弄いじりたくない
Potential	弄いじれる	弄いじれない
Passive	弄いじられる	弄いじられない
Causative	弄いじらせる	弄いじらせない
Causative passive	弄いじらせられるalso 弄いじらされる	弄いじらせられないalso 弄いじらされない
Volitional	弄いじろう
Polite volitional	弄いじりましょう
Imperative	弄いじれ	弄いじるな
Conditional	弄いじれば	弄いじらなければ
Tara conditional	弄いじったら	弄いじらなかったら

Meanings

godan verb (-ru), transitive verb

finger; fiddle with; play with

usually written using kana alone

Touching or handling something idly, often with fingers, without a serious purpose. Can be physical or metaphorical.

彼かれは話はなしながら、ペンをいじっていた。
He was fiddling with a pen while talking.
スマホの設せっ定ていをいじるのが好すきだ。
I like playing around with my smartphone settings.

godan verb (-ru), transitive verb

tinker with; tamper with; make changes to

usually written using kana alone

Making adjustments or modifications, often implying unauthorized or casual changes. Can be used for mechanical, electronic, or abstract things.

誰だれかが私わたしのパソコンをいじったみたいだ。
It looks like someone tampered with my computer.
彼かれは古ふるいバイクをいじって直なおした。
He tinkered with the old motorcycle and fixed it.

godan verb (-ru), transitive verb

dabble in; do as a hobby; play around with

usually written using kana alone

Engaging in an activity casually or as a hobby, without deep commitment. Often used with creative or technical pursuits.

週しゅう末まつに絵えをいじるのが趣しゅ味みです。
My hobby is dabbling in painting on weekends.
彼かれはプログラミングをいじって遊あそんでいる。
He plays around with programming for fun.

godan verb (-ru), transitive verb

tease; make fun of

usually written using kana alonecolloquial

Colloquial use; playfully teasing or making fun of someone, often in a light-hearted manner. Sometimes written as イジる.

先せん輩ぱいはいつも後こう輩はいをいじって笑わらわせる。
The senior always teases the junior and makes everyone laugh.
彼かの女じょは彼かれの失しっ敗ぱいをいじって楽たのしんだ。
She enjoyed teasing him about his mistake.

See all 70 example sentences ›

Usage patterns

髪かみを弄いじるto fiddle with one's hair
彼かの女じょは考かんがえ事ごとをするとき髪かみを弄いじる。
She fiddles with her hair when she's thinking.
〈物もの〉を弄いじるto fiddle absentmindedly with an object
彼かれは緊きん張ちょうすると鼻はなを弄いじる癖くせがある。
He has a habit of fiddling with his nose when he's nervous.
〈物もの〉の設せっ定ていを弄いじるto tamper with a device's settings
パソコンの設せっ定ていを弄いじったら動うごかなくなった。
I fiddled with the computer's settings and now it won't work.
〈物もの〉を弄いじって遊あそぶto dabble with something as a hobby
休きゅう日じつは古ふるいラジオを弄いじって遊あそんでいる。
On my days off I tinker around with old radios as a hobby.
〈人ひと〉を弄いじるto teasingly poke fun at someone
クラスメートに弄いじられて恥はずかしかった。
I felt embarrassed because my classmates were teasing me.

Kanji

弄play with, tamper, trifle with

Related words

触さわるN5sense 1
触る simply means to touch something with your hand, while 弄る implies fiddling or manipulating it with your fingers out of idle habit.
弄もてあそぶ
弄ぶ is literary and often carries a cruel nuance of toying with someone's feelings, whereas 弄る is casual and mostly neutral.
からかうN2sense 4
からかう means specifically to tease or joke with someone, while 弄る's teasing sense is more colloquial and can also cover light physical poking.
改かい造ぞうN2sense 2
改造する describes a formal, deliberate remodeling of something, while 弄る in the tinkering sense implies casual, often unauthorized tweaking.
いたずらN3
いじる is the common verb for fiddling or tinkering with something out of curiosity, while いたずら(する) implies doing so carelessly or without authorization.

Don't confuse with

いじめるN4sense 4
いじめる means to seriously bully or torment someone, while 弄る's teasing sense is much lighter and meant to be playful.
ひねるN3
捻る means to twist or turn something with deliberate force, while いじる means to fiddle or tinker with something casually, without necessarily twisting it.

Word family

いじり
meddling; fumbling; fondling; playing around with
土つちいじり
playing with dirt; messing around in the soil · gardening; hobby farming

Written forms

弄いじるUsage11%
Kanji form; high priority. Usually written in kana, but this kanji is recognized.
いじるUsage88%
Kana spelling is the usual written form for all senses.
イジるUsage1%
search-only kana form
Search-only katakana form; sometimes used in casual writing for the teasing sense.

Etymology

The origin is uncertain. The kanji 弄 is associated with playing or fiddling, and the reading いじる may be derived from mimetic or native roots, but the exact derivation is unclear.