うずくまる

also: つくばる

う

ず

く

ま

る

Common wordJLPTN1Freq.FrequencyTop 50,000

うずくまる · godan verb (-ru)

Form	Positive	Negative
Dictionary	うずくまる	うずくまらない
Polite	うずくまります	うずくまりません
Past polite	うずくまりました	うずくまりませんでした
Past	うずくまった	うずくまらなかった
Te-form	うずくまって	うずくまらないで
Desire	うずくまりたい	うずくまりたくない
Potential	うずくまれる	うずくまれない
Passive	うずくまられる	うずくまられない
Causative	うずくまらせる	うずくまらせない
Causative passive	うずくまらせられるalso うずくまらされる	うずくまらせられないalso うずくまらされない
Volitional	うずくまろう
Polite volitional	うずくまりましょう
Imperative	うずくまれ	うずくまるな
Conditional	うずくまれば	うずくまらなければ
Tara conditional	うずくまったら	うずくまらなかったら

Meanings

godan verb (-ru), intransitive verb

crouch; squat; cower

usually written using kana alone

Describes lowering the body close to the ground, often with knees bent. Can imply fear, hiding, or simply resting in a low posture. Cross-referenced with 蹲う (つくばう), a related archaic form.

Usage patterns

〈場ば所しょ〉にうずくまるto crouch down in/at a place
猫ねこが部屋へやの隅すみにうずくまっていた。
The cat was crouched in the corner of the room.
〈事こと〉でうずくまるto crouch down from (cold, fear, pain, etc.)
彼かれは激はげしい腹ふく痛つうでうずくまった。
He crouched over from severe stomach pain.

Kanji

蹲crouch, squat, cower
踞crouch, cower

Related words

しゃがむN2
しゃがむ is the plain, everyday word for squatting down, while うずくまる adds a nuance of fear, pain, or huddling low.
蹲つくばう
つくばう is an archaic/literary verb meaning almost the same as うずくまる, which is the modern standard form.
かがむ
屈む means simply to bend or crouch down without any implied emotion, whereas うずくまる often suggests cowering or curling up from fear or cold.
縮ちぢこまる
縮こまる emphasizes shrinking or huddling the body small (often from cold or fear), while うずくまる focuses more on the crouching posture itself.

Written forms

うずくまるUsage85%
Kana spelling is standard; usually written in kana.
蹲るUsage14%
- うずくまる
  Kanji form is recognized but less common in everyday writing.
- つくばる
  Alternate reading つくばる is rare and restricted to the 蹲る spelling.
踞うずくまるUsage1%
rarely-used kanji form
Rare kanji variant; it is rarely used.
つくばる

Etymology

The derivation is uncertain. The kanji 蹲 and 踞 both carry meanings related to crouching or sitting on one's heels, and are used here as conventional spellings for the native Japanese verb うずくまる.