眇すがめる

す

が

め

る

眇める · ichidan verb

Form	Positive	Negative
Dictionary	眇すがめる	眇すがめない
Polite	眇すがめます	眇すがめません
Past polite	眇すがめました	眇すがめませんでした
Past	眇すがめた	眇すがめなかった
Te-form	眇すがめて	眇すがめないで
Desire	眇すがめたい	眇すがめたくない
Potential	眇すがめられるalso 眇すがめれる	眇すがめられないalso 眇すがめれない
Passive	眇すがめられる	眇すがめられない
Causative	眇すがめさせる	眇すがめさせない
Causative passive	眇すがめさせられる	眇すがめさせられない
Volitional	眇すがめよう
Polite volitional	眇すがめましょう
Imperative	眇すがめろ	眇すがめるな
Conditional	眇すがめれば	眇すがめなければ
Tara conditional	眇すがめたら	眇すがめなかったら

Meanings

ichidan verb, transitive verb

squint (one eye); narrow (one's eyes)

Used specifically for deliberately narrowing or squinting one eye, often to see better or as a gesture. The object is typically 目 (eye).

彼かれは遠とおくを見みようと片かた目めをすがめた。
He squinted one eye to try to see far away.
眩まぶしくて、思おもわず目めをすがめた。
It was so bright that I instinctively narrowed my eyes.

See all 4 example sentences ›

Kanji

眇minuteness, squint

Related words

細ほそめる
細める means to make something physically thinner or narrower, and can also be used for narrowing eyes, but すがめる specifically refers to squinting or narrowing one eye (often one eye at a time) with a deliberate or strained expression.
眇すがめ
眇 (すがめ) is the noun form meaning squint or strabismus, while 眇める is the transitive verb meaning to squint.

Word family

ためつすがめつ
scrutinizing carefully; examining thoroughly; looking closely

Written forms

眇すがめるUsage28%
Rare kanji spelling; the verb is almost always written in kana.
すがめるUsage72%
Standard kana spelling for this verb.

Etymology

The verb すがめる is likely derived from the noun すがめ (squint, strabismus), but the exact origin is uncertain. The kanji 眇 is a rare character meaning 'to squint' or 'tiny'.