忍ぶ (しのぶ, shinobu) Japanese meaning: hide oneself | Kotomora

忍しのぶ

し

の

ぶ

Common wordJLPTN1Freq.FrequencyTop 50,000

忍ぶ · godan verb (-bu)

Form	Positive	Negative
Dictionary	忍しのぶ	忍しのばない
Polite	忍しのびます	忍しのびません
Past polite	忍しのびました	忍しのびませんでした
Past	忍しのんだ	忍しのばなかった
Te-form	忍しのんで	忍しのばないで
Desire	忍しのびたい	忍しのびたくない
Potential	忍しのべる	忍しのべない
Passive	忍しのばれる	忍しのばれない
Causative	忍しのばせる	忍しのばせない
Causative passive	忍しのばせられるalso 忍しのばされる	忍しのばせられないalso 忍しのばされない
Volitional	忍しのぼう
Polite volitional	忍しのびましょう
Imperative	忍しのべ	忍しのぶな
Conditional	忍しのべば	忍しのばなければ
Tara conditional	忍しのんだら	忍しのばなかったら

Pairs with忍ばせる

Meanings

godan verb (-bu), intransitive verb

hide oneself; conceal oneself

Intransitive use for hiding one's presence or body, often in a physical or figurative sense. Common in literary or poetic contexts.

彼かれは物もの陰かげに忍しのんで様よう子

Kanji

忍endure, bear, put up with

Transitive / intransitive

忍ぶ itself is used both intransitively, as in 物陰に忍ぶ (to hide in the shadows), and transitively, as in 辛さを忍ぶ (to endure hardship).

忍しのばせる sense 1
忍ばせる is the transitive causative form meaning to make something hidden or slip something in secretly, paired with the intransitive 忍ぶ meaning to hide oneself.

Related words

耐たえるN2sense 2
耐える is the common, neutral verb for enduring hardship, while 忍ぶ adds a literary, quietly patient nuance to the same idea of endurance.
隠かくれるN4sense 1
隠れる is the everyday verb for hiding oneself, whereas 忍ぶ is more literary and stresses deliberate, stealthy concealment.
我が慢まんN3sense 2
我慢する is the plain, everyday word for putting up with something, while 忍ぶ carries a more literary, resigned tone of quiet suffering.
潜ひそむN1sense 1
潜む describes the state of lying hidden or lurking somewhere, while 忍ぶ (sense of hiding) emphasizes the deliberate act of concealing oneself, often through movement.
こらえるN2
忍ぶ is a literary word for quietly enduring hardship or emotion, while 堪える is the more common, everyday verb for holding something back.

Opposites

現あらわれるN3sense 1
現れる means to appear or show oneself, the direct opposite of 忍ぶ's sense of hiding one's presence.
屈くっする sense 2
屈する means to yield or give in under pressure, the opposite of 忍ぶ's sense of patiently enduring hardship without breaking.

Don't confuse with

偲しのぶ
偲ぶ shares the same reading as 忍ぶ but means to fondly recall or reminisce about someone, not to hide or endure.
忍しのび込こむN1
忍ぶ means to endure hardship or to conceal oneself/one's feelings, while 忍び込む specifically means to sneak into a place.
しのぶ
忍ぶ is a common verb meaning 'to endure' or 'to hide oneself', while しのぶ (忍) here is an unrelated noun naming a fern, color, or historical hairstyle that happens to share the same reading.

Word family· 24

忍しのび
stealth; sneaking · travelling incognito · ninjutsu · ninja · sneak theft; sneak thief · tolerance
忍しのび寄よる
creep up; steal up; sneak up
忍しのび込こむN1
sneak in; creep in; steal in
耐たえ忍

Written forms

忍しのぶUsage94%
Standard kanji spelling for both intransitive and transitive uses.
しのぶUsage6%
Kana spelling is common in modern writing, especially for the transitive sense of enduring.

Etymology

The verb 忍ぶ (shinobu) is of native Japanese origin. The kanji 忍 carries meanings of 'endure' and 'conceal', which align with the verb's senses. The historical derivation is uncertain, but it may be related to the idea of 'bearing silently' or 'hiding one's feelings'.

忍しのぶ

Meanings

Usage patterns

Expressions