さばく

さ

ば

く

Freq.FrequencyTop 50,000

Meanings

godan verb (-ku), transitive verb

handle skillfully; manage; deal with

usually written using kana alone

Broad sense: to handle a situation, task, or problem deftly and efficiently. Often implies quick, smooth processing.

彼かれは難むずかしいクレームをうまくさばいた。
He skillfully handled the difficult complaint.

大たい

量りょう

の

仕し

事ごと

を

一人ひとり

で

さばく

の

は

大たい

変へん

だ

。

It's tough to manage a large volume of work alone.

godan verb (-ku), transitive verb

dress (fish/meat); cut and trim; prepare for cooking

usually written using kana alone

Specific culinary use: to clean, fillet, or cut fish or meat into usable portions.

魚さかなをさばいて刺さし身みにした。
I filleted the fish and made sashimi.

godan verb (-ku), transitive verb

sell out completely; dispose of all stock

usually written using kana alone

Commercial use: to sell every item of a product, leaving none in inventory.

新しん商しょう品ひんをあっという間まにさばいた。
They sold out the new product in no time.

godan verb (-ku), transitive verb

untangle; disentangle; part; arrange (hem)

usually written using kana alone

Used for separating tangled threads, hair, or adjusting the hem of a kimono. Somewhat specialized.

絡からまった糸いとをさばくのに時じ間かんがかかった。
It took time to untangle the tangled thread.

Written forms

さばくUsage72%
Usually written in kana; the kanji 捌く is uncommon and may not be recognized by all readers.
捌さばくUsage28%
Kanji form is rare and mainly seen in older texts or specialized contexts.

Kanji

捌handle, deal with, dispose of

Similar words

処しょ理りする
処理する is more formal and often used for systematic processing or disposal, while さばく implies a more hands-on, deft handling.
裁さばく
裁く means to judge or try a case in court. It is a homophone but written with a different kanji and has a distinct legal meaning.

Etymology

Originally meant to separate or untangle threads; the sense of handling things skillfully developed from the idea of smoothly separating and processing. The kanji 捌 is not commonly used in modern Japanese.