Common word› JLPT N4 › Freq. Frequency Top 5,000 Conjugation 緊張する · noun or participle which takes 'suru'
Form Positive Negative Dictionary 緊きん 張ちょう する 緊きん 張ちょう しない Polite 緊きん 張ちょう します 緊きん 張ちょう しません Past polite 緊きん 張ちょう しました 緊きん 張ちょう しませんでした Past 緊きん 張ちょう した 緊きん 張ちょう しなかった Te-form 緊きん 張ちょう して 緊きん 張ちょう しないで Desire 緊きん 張ちょう したい 緊きん 張ちょう したくない Potential 緊きん 張ちょう できる 緊きん 張ちょう できない Passive 緊きん 張ちょう される 緊きん 張ちょう されない Causative 緊きん 張ちょう させる 緊きん 張ちょう させない Causative passive 緊きん 張ちょう させられる 緊きん 張ちょう させられない Volitional 緊きん 張ちょう しよう Polite volitional 緊きん 張ちょう しましょう Imperative 緊きん 張ちょう しろ 緊きん 張ちょう するな Conditional 緊きん 張ちょう すれば 緊きん 張ちょう しなければ Tara conditional 緊きん 張ちょう したら 緊きん 張ちょう しなかったら
Usage patterns 〈 場ば 所しょ 〉 で 緊きん 張ちょう する to get nervous in a situation/place
I got so nervous at the interview that I couldn't speak well.
〈 国くに 〉 と 〈 国くに 〉 の 緊きん 張ちょう が 高たか まる tensions rise between (countries/groups)
Tensions between the two countries are rising.
筋きん 肉にく が 緊きん 張ちょう する muscles become tense/tighten
Sitting for a long time makes the neck muscles tense up.
緊きん 張ちょう が 走はし る a wave of tension runs through (a place/people)
That one remark sent a wave of tension through the room.
緊きん 張ちょう が 続つづ く tension continues (between parties)
Tension continues along the border area.
緊きん 張ちょう を 解と く to relax; to release tension
I took a deep breath and let the tension go.
Kanji 張 counter for bows & stringed instruments, stretch, spread Related words· 12 ストレス is the broad, borrowed term for stress of any kind, while 緊張 specifically names the tense, on-edge feeling before or during a stressful moment.
不安 is anxious unease about an uncertain outcome, while 緊張 is the physical/mental tautness felt in the moment itself.
緊張 is a native Japanese noun/suru-verb for tension or nervousness, often more formal and can refer to physical or social tension, while ナーバス is a more casual, personal feeling of being on edge.
緊張 is nervous tension or strain, usually with an anxious nuance, while 興奮 is a broader arousal that can be positive or negative.
Show 8 more Show fewer 緊張 usually describes personal nervousness or physical tightness, while 緊迫 describes an external situation or atmosphere becoming tense and urgent.
緊張 is the state or act of being tense, while 緊張感 emphasizes the palpable feeling or atmosphere of that tension.
張り is neutral physical tautness or firmness, while 緊張 specifically implies nervous or stressful tension.
緊張 is the ordinary Japanese word for nervous strain or tension, while テンション in this rare sense is an English-influenced usage that most speakers would replace with 緊張 .
緊張する describes formal or neutral nervousness/tension, whereas ビビる is casual and implies being intimidated or losing one's nerve.
緊張する describes feeling nervous or mentally tense, whereas 引き締まる describes a more positive firming of body, expression, or resolve.
緊張する is general nervous tension, whereas 力む specifically refers to physical or mental straining, often with visible effort or bluffing.
緊張する describes the feeling of being nervous or tense in general, while 強張る specifically describes the visible physical stiffening (of a face, voice, or muscles) that can result from it.
Opposites· 7 リラックス means being relaxed and at ease, the direct opposite of the nervous tautness of 緊張 .
弛緩 describes muscles or tension loosening and relaxing, the physiological opposite of 緊張 .
緊張 describes tautness or tension, the opposite state to the looseness that スラック describes.
Show 4 more Show fewer 緊張する means to be tense or nervous, the opposite of the relaxed ease expressed by 寛ぐ .
緊張する means to become tense or nervous, the opposite of 解ける meaning tension easing or relaxing.
緊張 means mental tension or alertness, the opposite of the dullness and letdown described by 弛み in its figurative sense.
緊張する means to become tense or nervous, the opposite of 緩む in the sense of relaxing or letting one's guard down.
Don't confuse with 緊迫 describes a situation that has become critically tense or urgent, while 緊張 is the more general word for tension or strain between parties.
緊張 shares the kanji 緊 with 緊縮 but means tension or nervousness, not tightening of a budget or physical contraction.
Word family· 12 feeling of tension; nervousness; tense atmosphere
muscle tone; tonus · myotonia
catatonia
international tension; international tensions
heightened tension; intensification of tension
Show 5 more Show fewer state of tension; tense situation
easing of tensions; détente; thaw
tense relationship; strained relations; tension
floppy infant; hypotonic infant
political tension
See all 12 in Explore →
Written forms 緊きん 張ちょう Usage 99%
Standard kanji spelling for all senses.
きんちょう Usage 1%
Etymology From 緊 (tight, tense) + 張 (stretch, spread). The combination conveys a state of being stretched tight, both physically and mentally.
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