godan verb (-ku), transitive verb
lay out; spread out; put down underneath
Physical use for spreading or placing something flat, especially bedding, mats, carpets, or cushions. With 座布団 and similar items it means putting something down to sit or rest on.
寝る前に畳の上に布団を敷いた。
Before going to bed, I laid out a futon on the tatami.
床
I put a floor cushion down and sat on it.
godan verb (-ku), transitive verb
impose widely; put into force; promulgate
Used with measures, orders, or regimes that are put in place over an area or group, such as 戒厳令を敷く. 布く is a rare search-only spelling for this sense.
政府はその地域に戒厳令を敷いた。
The government imposed martial law in that region.
godan verb (-ku), transitive verb
pin down; hold down; keep under one's thumb
Most familiar in the fixed expression 尻に敷く, literally 'put under one's backside,' meaning to dominate or keep someone under control.
See also: 尻に敷く
彼はいつも妻に尻に敷かれている。
He is always under his wife's thumb.
godan verb (-ku), transitive verb
lay tracks; lay infrastructure
Used for laying long, line-like infrastructure such as railway tracks. 布く is attested as a rare search-only spelling, but 敷く is the practical spelling.
新しい線路を山間部に敷く計画だ。
The plan is to lay new railway tracks through the mountain area.
godan verb (-ku), transitive verb
deploy; set up a formation
Military or strategic use for placing forces or establishing a position, especially in phrases like 陣を敷く. 布く is a rare search-only spelling for this spread-out deployment sense.
将軍は川沿いに陣を敷いた。
The general set up his forces along the river.
godan verb (-ku), intransitive verb
spread; be propagated
Formal or literary intransitive use, not the ordinary modern transitive 敷く. It may describe something spreading out, such as snow or frost, or more abstractly being propagated.
「霜が一面に敷いた」は、霜が広がったという文語的な言い方だ。
“Frost spread everywhere” is a literary way of saying that frost spread out.