点てん滅めつ

て

ん

め

つ

Common wordJLPTN1Freq.FrequencyTop 20,000

点滅する · noun or participle which takes 'suru'

Form	Positive	Negative
Dictionary	点てん滅めつする	点てん滅めつしない
Polite	点てん滅めつします	点てん滅めつしません
Past polite	点てん滅めつしました	点てん滅めつしませんでした
Past	点てん滅めつした	点てん滅めつしなかった
Te-form	点てん滅めつして	点てん滅めつしないで
Desire	点てん滅めつしたい	点てん滅めつしたくない
Potential	点てん滅めつできる	点てん滅めつできない
Passive	点てん滅めつされる	点てん滅めつされない
Causative	点てん滅めつさせる	点てん滅めつさせない
Causative passive	点てん滅めつさせられる	点てん滅めつさせられない
Volitional	点てん滅めつしよう
Polite volitional	点てん滅めつしましょう
Imperative	点てん滅めつしろ	点てん滅めつするな
Conditional	点てん滅めつすれば	点てん滅めつしなければ
Tara conditional	点てん滅めつしたら	点てん滅めつしなかったら

Meanings

noun, noun or participle which takes 'suru', transitive verb, intransitive verb

flashing; blinking; flickering; switching on and off

Describes lights or indicators that repeatedly turn on and off, or the action of making them do so. Used for both automatic blinking (intransitive) and manual switching (transitive).

信しん号ごうが赤あかで点てん滅めつしている。
The traffic light is flashing red.
警けい告こく灯とうを点てん滅めつさせて後こう続ぞく車しゃに知しらせた。
I flashed the warning lights to alert the car behind.

See all 44 example sentences ›

Usage patterns

〈物もの〉が点てん滅めつするfor something (a light, signal, etc.) to blink or flash
信しん号ごうが黄き色いろに点てん滅めつしている。
The traffic light is flashing yellow.
〈物もの〉を点てん滅めつさせるto make something (a light, indicator, etc.) blink or flash
非ひ常じょう時じにはランプを点てん滅めつさせてください。
In an emergency, please make the lamp flash.
〈数かず〉回かい点てん滅めつするto blink a certain number of times
このアイコンは三さん回かい点てん滅めつしてから消きえる。
This icon blinks three times before disappearing.

Kanji

点spot, point, mark
滅destroy, ruin, overthrow

Transitive / intransitive

点滅 itself covers both frames: intransitively, a light or signal simply blinks on its own (ライトが点滅する, 'the light is blinking'), and transitively (usually with させる), someone or something causes it to blink (ライトを点滅させる, 'to make the light blink').

Related words

瞬またたくN1
瞬く describes a brief, natural flicker such as stars twinkling or eyes blinking, while 点滅 refers to a more mechanical, repeating on-off cycle.
ちらつくN1
ちらつく suggests an unsteady, irregular flicker like a faulty light, whereas 点滅 implies a regular, repeating on-off pattern.
フリッカー
点滅 is the general Japanese term for something blinking on and off (like a traffic light), while フリッカー is a technical loanword specifically for the rapid flicker of light in displays or lighting.
瞬まばたきN1
瞬き describes the natural, often poetic twinkling of stars or light, while 点滅 refers to the mechanical on-off flashing of a light or signal.

Opposites

点てん灯とう
点灯 means a light stays continuously on, while 点滅 means it repeatedly turns on and off.

Counted with

回かいN4
Used when counting occurrences of blinking/flashing events.

Word family

光ひかり点てん滅めつ
light flashing; flashing light
点てん滅めつ器き
switch (for a light); flasher unit

Etymology

Compound of 点 (ten, 'point' or 'light') and 滅 (metsu, 'extinguish'), literally 'light on and off'. The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the kanji combination directly reflects the meaning.