行方ゆくえをくらます

Meanings

1

expression, godan verb (-su)

Used when someone deliberately hides their whereabouts, often to escape responsibility or danger. Implies a purposeful act of vanishing.

彼かれは借しゃっ金きんを返かえせずに行方ゆくえをくらました。
He disappeared without paying his debts.

犯はん

人にん

は

事じ

件けん

の

後あと

、

行方ゆくえ

を

くらまし

た

。

The culprit went into hiding after the incident.

Written forms

行方ゆくえをくらます
Standard spelling using kana for くらます; the most common written form.
行方ゆくえを晦くらます
Uses the rare kanji 晦; mainly encountered in literary or older texts.
行方ゆくえを暗くらます
Uses 暗 (dark); a less common variant, possibly ateji-like.

Kanji

行going, journey, carry out
方direction, person, alternative
晦dark, disappear
暗darkness, disappear, shade

Similar words

消きえる
消える is a general intransitive verb for disappearing or vanishing, not necessarily deliberate. 行方をくらます specifically means to intentionally hide one's whereabouts.
失しっ踪そうする
失踪する is a more formal term for disappearing or absconding, often used in legal or official contexts. 行方をくらます is more colloquial and vivid.

Etymology

The phrase combines 行方 (whereabouts) with くらます, a verb meaning to conceal or make something invisible. The exact origin of くらます is uncertain, but it is related to 暗い (dark) and carries the idea of hiding in darkness.