歪む

Unknown. Possible shared root with 肘 (hiji, “elbow”) and 膝 (hiza, “knee”), related to ideas of bending.

• Kun’yomi
  • (Tokyo) ひずむ [hìzúmú] (Heiban – [0])[1]
  • (Tokyo) ひず​む [hìzúꜜmù] (Nakadaka – [2])[1]
  • IPA^(key): [çizɨᵝmɯ̟ᵝ]

歪む (transitive and intransitive, godan conjugation, hiragana ひずむ, rōmaji hizumu, historical hiragana ひづむ)

1. (intransitive): to become bent, deformed, warped, twisted, crooked
2. (transitive): to bend or warp something:
   1. to bend something, to warp or distort something
   2. to bend or fold something into itself so it becomes smaller
   3. (figuratively) to berate or torment someone

ひずむ (hizumu) can be used to describe:

• images:

  映 (えい)像 (ぞう)が歪 (ひず)む ― eizō ga hizumu ― the image is distorting

• shapes:

  箱 (はこ)の形 (かたち)が歪 (ひず)む ― hako no katachi ga hizumu ― the box's shape is distorting

• audio:

  音 (おん)声 (せい)が歪 (ひず)む ― onsei ga hizumu ― the sound is distorting

but cannot be used to describe:

• facial expressions

ひずむ (hizumu) implies that the subject is difficult to see or hear properly due to noise, distortion, or other impurity. It is used less to describe specific shapes, and more to describe noise in images or audio.

Unknown. Possibly related to 弓 (yumi, “a bow”), which appears in compounds as ゆ (yu).

• Kun’yomi
  • (Tokyo) ゆがむ [yùgámú] (Heiban – [0])[1]
  • (Tokyo) ゆが​む [yùgáꜜmù] (Nakadaka – [2])[1]
  • IPA^(key): [jɯ̟ᵝɡa̠mɯ̟ᵝ]

歪む (intransitive, godan conjugation, hiragana ゆがむ, rōmaji yugamu)

1. to deform, to bend, to become warped or twisted
2. to become improper or irregular, such as emotions or actions
3. to deviate from a previous stance or favorable direction
4. to speak in a strong accent

ゆがむ (yugamu) can be used to describe:

• images:

  映 (えい)像 (ぞう)が歪 (ゆが)む ― eizō ga yugamu ― the image is deforming

• shapes:

  箱 (はこ)の形 (かたち)が歪 (ゆが)む ― hako no katachi ga yugamu ― the box's shape is deforming

• facial expressions:

  苦 (くる)しみで顔 (かお)が歪 (ゆが)む ― kurushimi de kao ga yugamu ― the suffering face is becoming irregular

but cannot be used to describe:

• audio

ゆがむ (yugamu) implies that a shape or form has become distorted or deformed for some reason. This can be used to describe three-dimensional objects or lines, but is more often used to describe flat objects. ゆがむ (yugamu) often carries negative connotations.

• 歪 (ゆが)める (yugameru): (transitive) to warp something

Phonetic alteration from ゆがむ (yugamu).[2]

• Kun’yomi
  • (Tokyo) いがむ [ìgámú] (Heiban – [0])[1]
  • IPA^(key): [iɡa̠mɯ̟ᵝ]

歪む (transitive and intransitive, godan conjugation, hiragana いがむ, rōmaji igamu)

1. (intransitive): to become bent or deformed:
   1. to deform, to bend, to become warped or twisted
   2. to become improper or irregular, such as emotions or actions
   3. to become sick (as used by carpenters and performers)
2. (transitive): to steal something

The ゆがむ (yugamu) reading is generally more common for the intransitive senses.

• 歪 (いが)める (igameru): (transitive) to warp something; to steal something