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探る (さぐる, saguru) Japanese meaning: grope for | Kotomora
Common word› JLPT N2 › Freq. Frequency Top 10,000 Conjugation 探る · godan verb (-ru)
Form Positive Negative Dictionary 探さぐ る 探さぐ らない Polite 探さぐ ります 探さぐ りません Past polite 探さぐ りました 探さぐ りませんでした Past 探さぐ った 探さぐ らなかった Te-form 探さぐ って 探さぐ らないで Desire 探さぐ りたい 探さぐ りたくない Potential 探さぐ れる 探さぐ れない Passive 探さぐ られる 探さぐ られない Causative 探さぐ らせる 探さぐ らせない Causative passive 探さぐ らせられる also 探さぐ らされる 探さぐ らせられない also 探さぐ らされない Volitional 探さぐ ろう Polite volitional 探さぐ りましょう Imperative 探さぐ れ 探さぐ るな Conditional 探さぐ れば 探さぐ らなければ Tara conditional 探さぐ ったら 探さぐ らなかったら
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I groped for the switch in the dark.
I fumbled in my pocket and took out the key.
Usage patterns 〈 物もの 〉 の 中なか を 探さぐ る to feel around inside something (e.g. a bag)
I felt around inside my bag, but couldn't find my keys.
手て で 〈 物もの 〉 を 探さぐ る to feel for something with one's hand
I moved forward, feeling along the wall with my hand in the darkness.
〈 人ひと 〉 の 意い 向こう を 探さぐ る to sound out someone's intentions
I decided to sound out my boss's intentions before making the proposal.
〈 事こと 〉 の 真しん 相そう を 探さぐ る to investigate the truth behind something
The reporter kept investigating the truth behind the incident.
〈 事こと 〉 の 可か 能のう 性せい を 探さぐ る to explore the possibility of something
The two companies are exploring the possibility of a business partnership.
〈 場ば 所しょ 〉 を 探さぐ る to explore an unfamiliar place
Exploring deep into the cave is dangerous.
Expressions 腹はら を 探さぐ る probe someone's real intentions; sound someone out; fathom someone's thoughts 探さぐ りを 入い れる probe; sound out; investigate discreetly Related words· 7 探す is the general word for looking for something, while 探る implies a careful, groping or probing search, often by touch or into hidden matters.
調べる means to examine or check systematically, whereas 探る suggests a more tentative probing into something unknown or concealed.
詮索する means to pry or dig persistently into details (often with a negative, nosy nuance), while 探る is more neutral and can also describe cautious physical or figurative searching.
模索する means to grope or search for a solution or direction (e.g. a policy), a more formal and abstract counterpart to the figurative sense of 探る.
Show 3 more 打診する specifically means to sound someone out about their intentions before making a formal request, a narrower and more business-like usage than 探る.
探る means to search or probe for something unknown, while 辿る specifically follows an existing trail, clue, or sequence to reach an endpoint.
探る means to probe or investigate and is the more natural verb for figurative digging into a matter, while 掘る in this sense is slightly more casual and physical in nuance.
Don't confuse with 探す is a general word for looking for something you want, while 探る means to feel around or probe (often blindly or exploratively) for something, as in groping in the dark.
探る means to probe or feel around cautiously for information or objects, while 漁る implies a rougher, more thorough rummaging.
Word family· 9 fumbling; groping
probing; sounding out; exploratory investigation
probing with chopsticks; rummaging in shared dishes with chopsticks
groping with one's feet; feeling one's way
Written forms 探さぐ る Usage 82%
Standard kanji spelling for all senses.
さぐる Usage 18%
Kana spelling is common in casual writing and when the physical groping nuance is emphasized.
Etymology The historical derivation is uncertain. The kanji 探 is conventionally associated with searching and probing.
blindly groping; fumbling in the dark
Show 4 more find out; dig up; sniff out; worm out; pry out; spy out
sounding each other out; probing each other
grope around; fumble around
find out; ferret out; track down
