Japanese word

絞る

Pronunciation

Romajishiboru

Meaning

  • verbsqueeze

Example

レモンを絞ります。re mo n o shibo ri ma su

I squeeze a lemon.

Illustration for 絞る (squeeze)

More examples

濡れた布を絞って、水を切ります。nu re ta nuno o shibo tte mizu o ki ri ma su

I wring out the wet cloth to remove the water.

Core concept

Describes forcing liquid out of something by pressing, twisting, or tightening it.

Common phrases

  • 布を絞るnuno o shibo ru

    wring out a cloth

  • オレンジを絞るo re n ji o shibo ru

    squeeze an orange

  • 水分を絞るsui bun o shibo ru

    squeeze out moisture

Similar words

絞り出すshiboridasu: To make liquid or contents come out through strong squeezing.

Definition in Japanese

物に力を加えて押したりねじったりし、中の液体を外に出す。mono ni chikara o kuwa e te o shi ta ri ne ji tta ri shi naka no eki tai o soto ni da su

Word origin

絞る (shiboru, "to squeeze") is a native Japanese verb rather than a Sino-Japanese compound, and it appears in Old Japanese as しぼる (shiboru) without a securely known smaller-word origin.

Usage tips

  • In everyday Japanese, 絞る (shiboru) can also describe narrowing many choices to a smaller set, extending physical squeezing to the idea of reducing a range.

Other meanings

  • wringverb

Related words

  • 絞り方shiborikataway of squeezingnoun
  • 絞り器shiborikisqueezernoun

Word lists with this word