引ひきこもる

ひ

き

こ

も

る

JLPTN1Freq.FrequencyTop 100,000

引きこもる · godan verb (-ru)

Form	Positive	Negative
Dictionary	引ひきこもる	引ひきこもらない
Polite	引ひきこもります	引ひきこもりません
Past polite	引ひきこもりました	引ひきこもりませんでした
Past	引ひきこもった	引ひきこもらなかった
Te-form	引ひきこもって	引ひきこもらないで
Desire	引ひきこもりたい	引ひきこもりたくない
Potential	引ひきこもれる	引ひきこもれない
Passive	引ひきこもられる	引ひきこもられない
Causative	引ひきこもらせる	引ひきこもらせない
Causative passive	引ひきこもらせられるalso 引ひきこもらされる	引ひきこもらせられないalso 引ひきこもらされない
Volitional	引ひきこもろう
Polite volitional	引ひきこもりましょう
Imperative	引ひきこもれ	引ひきこもるな
Conditional	引ひきこもれば	引ひきこもらなければ
Tara conditional	引ひきこもったら	引ひきこもらなかったら

Meanings

godan verb (-ru), intransitive verb

stay indoors; shut oneself in; be confined indoors

Describes voluntarily or involuntarily staying inside a room or house for an extended period, often with a nuance of social withdrawal. The derived noun ひきこもり refers to a person who withdraws from society.

彼かれは部屋へやに引ひきこもってゲームばかりしている。
He stays shut in his room doing nothing but playing games.
雨あめの日ひは家いえに引ひきこもって本ほんを読よむのが好すきだ。
On rainy days I like to stay indoors and read books.

See all 15 example sentences ›

Usage patterns

〈場ば所しょ〉に引ひきこもるto shut oneself indoors at (a place)
彼かれは自じ分ぶんの部屋へやに引ひきこもっている。
He has shut himself away in his own room.
〈時とき〉引ひきこもるto remain shut indoors for a certain period
彼かれは半はん年ねん間かん、家いえに引ひきこもっている。
He has been shut up at home for six months.

Kanji

引pull, tug, jerk
籠basket, devote oneself, seclude oneself
篭seclude oneself, cage, coop

Related words

閉とじこもるN1
引きこもる implies a longer-term or habitual withdrawal from society, while 閉じこもる often describes shutting oneself in a specific room or for a shorter period.
こもるN2
籠る is a broader, more literary word for shutting oneself away (even in a temple or shrine), whereas 引きこもる specifically suggests social withdrawal at home.

Opposites

外がい出しゅつN2
外出する means to go out, the opposite action of 引きこもる, which means to stay shut indoors.

Don't confuse with

引ひき込こむN1
引き込む looks similar to 引きこもる but means to pull or draw something in, not to withdraw oneself indoors.

Word family

引ひきこもり
shut-in; hikikomori; person who withdraws from society · social withdrawal; shunning other people

Written forms

引ひきこもるUsage57%
Standard kanji-kana mixed spelling; the most common written form.
ひきこもるUsage21%
Kana spelling; often used in contexts discussing social withdrawal (ひきこもり).
引ひき籠こもるUsage8%
search-only kanji form
引ひき籠こもるUsage7%
Alternative kanji for こもる; less common but still encountered.
引ひき篭こもるUsage3%
Alternative kanji for こもる; less common but still encountered.
引ひき篭こもるUsage2%
search-only kanji form
引ひき籠こもるUsage1%
search-only kanji form
引ひき篭こもるUsage1%
search-only kanji form

Etymology

Compound of 引き (hiki, continuative form of 引く 'to pull') + こもる (komoru, 'to seclude oneself, be confined'). The combination intensifies the sense of withdrawing and staying inside.