蔑さげすむ

さ

げ

す

む

Common wordJLPTN1Freq.FrequencyTop 50,000

Meanings

1

godan verb (-mu), transitive verb

scorn; despise; look down on

Expresses strong contempt or disdain for someone or something, often with a sense of looking down on them as inferior.

彼かれは他た人にんを蔑さげすむような態たい度どをとる。
He takes an attitude of looking down on others.
弱

よわ

い

者もの

を

蔑さげす

ん

で

は

いけ

ない

。

You must not despise the weak.

Written forms

蔑さげすむUsage62%
Standard kanji spelling; the most common written form.
さげすむUsage38%
貶さげすむUsage1%
rarely-used kanji form
Rarely used kanji form; learners should recognize it but use 蔑む instead.

Kanji

蔑ignore, despise, neglect
貶degrade, disparage, belittle

Similar words

見み下くだす
見下す is more literal 'look down on' and can be used for physical looking down, while 蔑む is purely emotional contempt.
軽けい蔑べつする
軽蔑する is a common suru-verb with a similar meaning, but 蔑む is a single godan verb and can feel slightly more literary or intense.

Etymology

The kanji 蔑 carries the meaning 'despise' or 'scorn'. The reading さげすむ is a native Japanese verb; the exact derivation is uncertain, but it may be related to 下げ (sageru, 'to lower') and すむ (sumu, an old verb for 'to do' or 'to think'), suggesting a sense of 'to lower in one's estimation'.