凹(へこ)む

へこむ
godan verb
to be dented; to be indented; to feel down
1. to be dented; to be indented
To have a surface pushed inward, creating a depression.
車(くるま)のドアが凹(へこ)んでしまった。
The car door got dented.
地面(じめん)が少(すこ)し凹(へこ)んでいる。
The ground is slightly indented.
缶(かん)が凹(へこ)んだ。
The can got dented.
ボールが当(あ)たって壁(かべ)が凹(へこ)んだ。
The wall got dented where the ball hit it.
マットレスが凹(へこ)んでいる。
The mattress is indented.
2. to feel down; to be dejected
To feel discouraged or depressed (colloquial).
試験(しけん)に落(お)ちて凹(へこ)んでいる。
I'm feeling down because I failed the exam.
失敗(しっぱい)して凹(へこ)んでいる。
I'm feeling down because of my failure.
怒(おこ)られて凹(へこ)んだ。
I got scolded and felt dejected.
そんなに凹(へこ)まないで。
Don't be so down about it.
批判(ひはん)されても凹(へこ)まない。
I won't be discouraged even if criticized.
振(ふ)られて凹(へこ)んでいる。
I'm feeling down because I got rejected.
3. to be defeated; to give in
To lose or yield to someone.
彼(かれ)に言(い)い負(ま)かされて凹(へこ)んだ。
I gave in after being out-argued by him.
議論(ぎろん)で凹(へこ)まされた。
I was beaten in the argument.
相手(あいて)に凹(へこ)まずに戦(たたか)った。
I fought without yielding to my opponent.
彼(かれ)には何(なに)を言(い)っても凹(へこ)まない。
No matter what you say, he won't back down.

凹(へこ)む is intransitive (自動詞(じどうし)). The transitive pair is 凹(へこ)ます (to dent, to make someone feel down).

ASPECT ({ている}):
凹(へこ)んでいる indicates a resulting state of being dented, or an ongoing state of feeling down.

COMMON PATTERNS:

  • ドアが凹(へこ)む (door gets dented)
  • 凹(へこ)んでいる (to be dented; to be feeling down)
  • ちょっと凹(へこ)んだ (I'm a bit down)

PARTICLE PATTERNS:

  • ～が凹(へこ)む: What is dented

COLLOQUIAL USAGE:
In casual speech, 凹(へこ)む is commonly used to describe feeling disappointed or dejected. This usage is very common among younger speakers.

The kanji 凹(おう) visually represents a depression or dent, matching the meaning.

Related Words

Pair verb: 凹(へこ)ます (transitive)
Antonym: 出(で)っ張(ぱ)る (to protrude)
core
Added 2026.1.13 15:25 · Revised 2026.2.4 10:50
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