掻く

Japanese

Alternative spelling
搔く (kyūjitai)

From Old Japanese, ultimately from Proto-Japonic *kaku (“to scratch”).

First attested in the Kojiki of 712 CE.^[1]

Cognate with 書く (kaku, “to write”).

Stem forms
Source: Online Japanese Accent Dictionary
Terminal (終止形) Attributive (連体形)	掻く	かく	`[káꜜkù]`
Imperative (命令形)	掻け	かけ	`[káꜜkè]`
Key constructions
Passive	掻かれる	かかれる	`[kàkáréꜜrù]`
Causative	掻かせる	かかせる	`[kàkáséꜜrù]`
Potential	掻ける	かける	`[kàkéꜜrù]`
Volitional	掻こう	かこー	`[kàkóꜜò]`
Negative	掻かない	かかない	`[kàkáꜜnàì]`
Negative perfective	掻かなかった	かかなかった	`[kàkáꜜnàkàttà]`
Formal	掻きます	かきます	`[kàkímáꜜsù]`
Perfective	掻いた	かいた	`[káꜜìtà]`
Conjunctive	掻いて	かいて	`[káꜜìtè]`
Hypothetical conditional	掻けば	かけば	`[káꜜkèbà]`

掻(か)く • (kaku) transitive godan (stem 掻(か)き (kaki), past 掻(か)いた (kaita))

to scratch (e.g. one's head)
頭(あたま)を掻(か)く
atama o kaku
to scratch one's head
(no longer productive) Dummy verb for various nouns, often with a meaning similar to "to present" or "to give the impression of".
汗(あせ)を掻(か)く
ase o kaku
to sweat

あぐらをかく
agura o kaku
to sit crosslegged

なきべそをかく
nakibeso o kaku
to be on the verge of tears

恥(はじ)をかく／恥(はじ)をかかせる
haji o kaku／haji o kakaseru
to feel shame in public; to humiliate

Conjugation of "掻く" (See Appendix:Japanese verbs)

^ “掻”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎^[1] (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2006
^ Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
^ NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN
^ Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1974), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Second edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō