瞬またたく

also: まばたく · まだたく

ま

た

く

Common wordJLPTN1Freq.FrequencyTop 50,000

瞬く · godan verb (-ku)

Form	Positive	Negative
Dictionary	瞬またたく	瞬またたかない
Polite	瞬またたきます	瞬またたきません
Past polite	瞬またたきました	瞬またたきませんでした
Past	瞬またたいた	瞬またたかなかった
Te-form	瞬またたいて	瞬またたかないで
Desire	瞬またたきたい	瞬またたきたくない
Potential	瞬またたける	瞬またたけない
Passive	瞬またたかれる	瞬またたかれない
Causative	瞬またたかせる	瞬またたかせない
Causative passive	瞬またたかせられるalso 瞬またたかされる	瞬またたかせられないalso 瞬またたかされない
Volitional	瞬またたこう
Polite volitional	瞬またたきましょう
Imperative	瞬またたけ	瞬またたくな
Conditional	瞬またたけば	瞬またたかなければ
Tara conditional	瞬またたいたら	瞬またたかなかったら

Pairs withしばたたく

Meanings

godan verb (-ku), intransitive verb

twinkle; flicker; waver

Describes light sources such as stars, lamps, or flames that shine unsteadily or intermittently. Often used in literary or poetic contexts.

夜よ空ぞらに星ほしが瞬またたいている。
Stars are twinkling in the night sky.
ろうそくの火ひが風かぜで瞬またたいた。
The candle flame flickered in the wind.

godan verb (-ku), intransitive verb

blink; wink; bat (one's eyes)

Refers to the rapid closing and opening of the eyelids. The reading またたく is sometimes used transitively with 目を, though intransitive use is more common.

彼かれは驚おどろいて何なん度ども瞬またたいた。
He blinked several times in surprise.
まぶしくて目めが瞬またたく。
My eyes blink because it's too bright.

See all 35 example sentences ›

Usage patterns

〈物もの〉が瞬またたくfor a light (star, lamp, flame) to twinkle or flicker
夜よ空ぞらにたくさんの星ほしが瞬またたいている。
Many stars are twinkling in the night sky.
目めを瞬またたくto blink one's eyes (once or a couple of times)
彼かれはまぶしさに目めを瞬またたいた。
He blinked at the glare.

Expressions

瞬またたく間まbrief moment; blink of an eye

Kanji

瞬wink, blink, twinkle

Transitive / intransitive

しばたたく sense 2
瞬く（またたく）is intransitive for a single blink or flicker, while 瞬く（しばたたく）is the transitive form used for rapidly blinking one's eyes repeatedly.

Related words

きらめく sense 1
瞬く describes a soft, intermittent shimmer of light (stars, flames), while きらめく suggests a brighter, more dazzling sparkle.
揺ゆらめく sense 1
瞬く focuses on light shining unsteadily, whereas 揺らめく emphasizes a swaying, wavering motion (e.g. of flame or heat haze) that may or may not involve light.
点てん滅めつ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.

Don't confuse with

瞬まばたきN1sense 2
瞬く is the verb meaning 'to blink/twinkle', while 瞬き is the noun for the act of blinking itself and is far more common in everyday speech.

Word family

瞬またたく間まに
in the blink of an eye; in a flash

Written forms

瞬くUsage<1%
- またたく
  Standard kanji spelling for both twinkling and blinking senses.
- まばたく
  Alternate reading; less common than またたく.
- まだたく
  Archaic reading; not used in modern Japanese.
またたくUsage95%
Kana spelling is common, especially when the intended sense is clear from context.
まばたくUsage5%
まだたく

Etymology

The kanji 瞬 means 'blink' or 'moment'. The verb 瞬く is a native Japanese word with uncertain derivation; it may be related to the mimetic root *mata- suggesting intermittent motion.