蝕むしばむ

む

し

ば

む

Common wordJLPTN1Freq.FrequencyTop 50,000

蝕む · godan verb (-mu)

Form	Positive	Negative
Dictionary	蝕むしばむ	蝕むしばまない
Polite	蝕むしばみます	蝕むしばみません
Past polite	蝕むしばみました	蝕むしばみませんでした
Past	蝕むしばんだ	蝕むしばまなかった
Te-form	蝕むしばんで	蝕むしばまないで
Desire	蝕むしばみたい	蝕むしばみたくない
Potential	蝕むしばめる	蝕むしばめない
Passive	蝕むしばまれる	蝕むしばまれない
Causative	蝕むしばませる	蝕むしばませない
Causative passive	蝕むしばませられるalso 蝕むしばまされる	蝕むしばませられないalso 蝕むしばまされない
Volitional	蝕むしばもう
Polite volitional	蝕むしばみましょう
Imperative	蝕むしばめ	蝕むしばむな
Conditional	蝕むしばめば	蝕むしばまなければ
Tara conditional	蝕むしばんだら	蝕むしばまなかったら

Meanings

godan verb (-mu), transitive verb, intransitive verb

be worm-eaten; be eaten by worms

Literal sense: wood, books, or organic matter being damaged by worms or insects. Often used in the passive or resultative form 蝕まれる.

古ふるい本ほんが虫むしに蝕むしばまれている。
The old book is being eaten by insects.
柱はしらがシロアリに蝕むしばまれて、家いえが傾かたむいた。
The pillars were eaten by termites, and the house tilted.

godan verb (-mu), transitive verb, intransitive verb

undermine; gnaw at; eat into; spoil; ruin

Figurative use: something gradually damages or destroys health, mind, relationships, organizations, etc. Common with 心, 体, 健康, 精神, 社会.

ストレスが彼かれの健けん康こうを蝕むしばんでいる。
Stress is undermining his health.
嫉しっ妬とが心こころを蝕むしばんでいく。
Jealousy gnaws at the heart.
不ふ正せいが組そ織しきを蝕むしばんでいる。
Corruption is eating into the organization.

See all 23 example sentences ›

Usage patterns

〈物もの〉が〈心こころ・体からだ〉を蝕むしばむfor something to gradually undermine someone's mind or body
長なが年ねんのストレスが彼かれの心こころを蝕むしばんだ。
Years of stress gradually ate away at his mind.
〈物もの〉に蝕むしばまれるto be eaten away or undermined by something
彼かれの体からだは病びょう気きに蝕むしばまれていた。
His body was being ravaged by illness.
虫むしに蝕むしばまれるto be eaten away by worms or insects
古ふるい木きの柱はしらが虫むしに蝕むしばまれていた。
The old wooden pillar had been eaten away by worms.

Kanji

蝕eclipse, occultation, be defective
虫insect, bug, temper
食eat, food

Related words

損そこなうN1sense 2
損なう means to harm or spoil something like health or mood through a specific action, while 蝕む describes a slow, insidious process of erosion or undermining over time.
腐くさるN4
腐る means 'to rot' or 'to go bad', focusing on decomposition, while 蝕む implies gradual erosion or undermining, often by an external agent.
侵おかすN1sense 2
侵す means 'to invade' or 'to violate', often used for territory or rights, while 蝕む emphasizes slow, internal damage rather than overt invasion.

Opposites

育はぐくむN1sense 2
育む means to nurture or foster something's growth, the opposite of 蝕む, which describes something being slowly eaten away or undermined.

Don't confuse with

虫むし歯ばN3
虫歯 is a noun meaning 'tooth decay/cavity', while 蝕む is a verb meaning 'to erode or undermine', though both share the image of something being eaten away.

Written forms

蝕むしばむUsage61%
Standard kanji spelling; the 蝕 character conveys 'erosion' or 'decay'.
むしばむUsage39%
Kana spelling is common in everyday writing, especially for figurative senses.
虫むし食ばむ
rarely-used kanji form
Rarely used kanji form; literally 'insect-eat', emphasizing the worm-eaten origin.

Etymology

Compound of 虫 (mushi, 'insect') + 食む (hamu, 'to eat'). The kanji 蝕 (shoku, 'eclipse; erosion') was later applied to convey the sense of gradual decay. The figurative meaning developed from the literal image of worms eating away at something.