酌くむ

く

む

酌む · godan verb (-mu)

Form	Positive	Negative
Dictionary	酌くむ	酌くまない
Polite	酌くみます	酌くみません
Past polite	酌くみました	酌くみませんでした
Past	酌くんだ	酌くまなかった
Te-form	酌くんで	酌くまないで
Desire	酌くみたい	酌くみたくない
Potential	酌くめる	酌くめない
Passive	酌くまれる	酌くまれない
Causative	酌くませる	酌くませない
Causative passive	酌くませられるalso 酌くまされる	酌くませられないalso 酌くまされない
Volitional	酌くもう
Polite volitional	酌くみましょう
Imperative	酌くめ	酌くむな
Conditional	酌くめば	酌くまなければ
Tara conditional	酌くんだら	酌くまなかったら

Meanings

godan verb (-mu), transitive verb

pour sake; serve sake; drink together

Primarily used for pouring and sharing sake or other alcoholic drinks in a social setting. Implies a convivial, often reciprocal act of serving and drinking together.

Usage patterns

〈人ひと〉に酒さけを酌くむto pour sake for someone
上じょう司しに酒さけを酌くんでもらった。
My boss poured me some sake.
〈人ひと〉の気き持もちを酌くむto consider someone's feelings
彼かの女じょの気き持もちを酌くんで、無む理りな提てい案あんはしなかった。
Taking her feelings into consideration, I didn't push an unreasonable proposal.
〈事こと〉を酌くむto take circumstances into account
先せん生せいは生せい徒との事じ情じょうを酌くんで、提てい出しゅつ期き限げんを延のばしてくれた。
The teacher took the student's circumstances into account and extended the deadline.

Expressions

意いを酌くむread someone's feelings; understand someone's unspoken thoughts; enter into someone's heart

Kanji

酌bar-tending, serving sake, the host

Related words

注つぐN3sense 1
注ぐ is the neutral verb for pouring any drink into a cup, while 酌む specifically evokes the social act of serving sake back and forth between people.
察さっするN2sense 2
察する means to sense or infer someone's feelings or situation intuitively, while 酌む (in this sense) specifically means to take those feelings or circumstances into consideration once understood.
思おもいやる sense 2
思いやる expresses general compassionate consideration for others, while 酌む is more specifically about weighing someone's stated or implied feelings or circumstances in a particular situation.

Don't confuse with

汲くむN2
酌む is used specifically for pouring or sharing alcoholic drinks (or for sympathetically considering feelings), while 汲む is the general verb for drawing water or other liquids from a source, though it shares the figurative 'consider feelings' sense.
汲くみ取とるN1
酌む shares the same reading and figurative sense of considering someone's feelings, but it more commonly means to pour drinks (like sake), unlike 汲み取る which is specifically about extracting understanding.
組くむN3
酌む shares the same reading as 組む but means to pour a drink or, figuratively, to consider someone's feelings, unrelated to assembling or grouping.

Word family

酌くみ交かわす
pour drinks for each other; drink together

Etymology

The kanji 酌 is composed of 酉 (sake jar) and 勺 (ladle), suggesting the act of ladling sake. The verb くむ originally meant to draw or scoop liquid, and the spelling 酌む became specialized for sake-related contexts. The extended meaning of considering feelings likely derives from the idea of drawing out someone's inner thoughts.