ひねる

godan verb (-ru), transitive verb

twist (a body part); bend; sprain

Used for twisting or wrenching a body part, often resulting in a sprain.

• 転ころんで足あし首くびをひねった。

  I fell and twisted my ankle.

• 首くびをひねって後うしろを見みる。

  Twist your neck to look behind.

godan verb (-ru), transitive verb

strangle; wring (a neck)

Specifically for twisting or wringing an animal's neck to kill it, or strangling someone.

• 鶏にわとりの首くびをひねる。

  Wring a chicken's neck.

godan verb (-ru), transitive verb

defeat easily; beat

Figurative use meaning to defeat an opponent effortlessly, as if twisting them.

• 強つよい相あい手てをひねって勝かった。

  We beat a strong opponent easily.

godan verb (-ru), transitive verb

make intricate; complicate; make peculiar

Used for deliberately making a problem, design, or idea more complicated or unusual than necessary.

• 彼かれはいつも話はなしをひねってわかりにくくする。

  He always twists his stories and makes them hard to understand.

godan verb (-ru), transitive verb

compose (a haiku, song, etc.) with effort

Implies managing to create a poem or song by putting in effort and ingenuity, often with a sense of struggling to produce something.

• 一ひと晩ばんかけて俳はい句くをひねった。

  I spent the whole night composing a haiku.

godan verb (-ru), transitive verb

wrap (a monetary gift) in paper

Dated term for wrapping money in paper, typically as a gift.

• 昔むかしはお金かねを紙かみにひねって渡わたしたものだ。

  In the old days, people used to wrap money in paper and hand it over.