Japanese word

抜く

Pronunciation

Romajinuku

Meaning

  • verbpull out

Example

歯医者が歯を抜きます。ha i sha ga ha o nu ki ma su

The dentist pulls out a tooth.

Illustration for 抜く (pull out)

More examples

瓶の栓を抜いて、コップに水を注ぎます。bin no sen o nu i te ko ppu ni mizu o soso gi ma su

I remove the stopper from the bottle and pour water into a glass.

Core concept

Centers on taking an item out of a place, link, or series, with the same basic idea extending to unplugging, skipping, and removing unwanted plants.

Common phrases

  • 歯を抜くha o nu ku

    pull out a tooth

  • 栓を抜くsen o nu ku

    pull out the stopper

  • 釘を抜くkugi o nu ku

    pull out a nail

  • コンセントを抜くko n se n to o nu ku

    unplug the cord

  • 毛を抜くke o nu ku

    pluck a hair

Similar words

取り出すtoridasu: To take something out of a place or container without focusing on force.
引き抜くhikinuku: To pull something out of a tight or fixed position.

Definition in Japanese

物を引っ張り、その物が入っている所や付いている所から外す。mono o hi ppa ri so no mono ga hai tte i ru tokoro ya tsu i te i ru tokoro ka ra hazu su

Word origin

抜く (nuku) belongs to the native Japanese vocabulary and is traditionally written with 抜 (batsu, "remove"); the verb's original word formation is not known with certainty.

Usage tips

  • Japanese uses 抜く (nuku) in both 電源を抜く (dengen o nuku) for unplugging and 朝食を抜く (chōshoku o nuku) for skipping breakfast, two common conversational meanings.

Other meanings

  • unplugverb
  • skipverb
  • weedverb

Opposites

Related words

  • 抜き方nukikataway of pulling outnoun

Word lists with this word