捻(ひね)る

ひねる
godan verb
to twist; to turn; to puzzle over
1. to twist; to turn
To rotate or turn something with a twisting motion.
蛇口(じゃぐち)を捻(ひね)って水(みず)を出(だ)す。
To turn the faucet and let the water run.
ガスのつまみを捻(ひね)って火(ひ)をつけた。
I turned the gas knob and lit the flame.
ドアのノブを捻(ひね)ったが、鍵(かぎ)がかかっていた。
I turned the door knob, but it was locked.
2. to wrench; to sprain
To injure by twisting.
走(はし)っていて足首(あしくび)を捻(ひね)った。
I twisted my ankle while running.
試合(しあい)中(ちゅう)に手首(てくび)を捻(ひね)ってしまった。
I sprained my wrist during the match.
階段(かいだん)で転(ころ)んで膝(ひざ)を捻(ひね)った。
I fell on the stairs and twisted my knee.
3. to puzzle over; to rack one's brains
To think hard about something difficult.
首(くび)を捻(ひね)って考(かんが)えた。
I tilted my head and thought about it.
知恵(ちえ)を捻(ひね)って解決策(かいけつさく)を考(かんが)え出(だ)した。
I racked my brains and came up with a solution.
いくら首(くび)を捻(ひね)っても答(こた)えが出(で)なかった。
No matter how hard I puzzled over it, I couldn't find the answer.
4. to defeat easily
To win against someone with little effort (colloquial).
相手(あいて)を簡単(かんたん)に捻(ひね)った。
I easily defeated my opponent.
優勝(ゆうしょう)候補(こうほ)が初戦(しょせん)の相手(あいて)を軽(かる)く捻(ひね)った。
The tournament favorite easily defeated their first-round opponent.
大人(おとな)が子供(こども)を捻(ひね)るようなものだ。
It's like an adult easily overpowering a child.

捻(ひね)る is transitive (他動詞(たどうし)). Related intransitive forms exist but are less common.

ASPECT ({ている}):
捻(ひね)っている indicates ongoing twisting action or a state of being puzzled.

COMMON PATTERNS:

  • 蛇口(じゃぐち)を捻(ひね)る (to turn a faucet)
  • 首(くび)を捻(ひね)る (to tilt one's head in puzzlement)
  • 足首(あしくび)を捻(ひね)る (to twist one's ankle)
  • 知恵(ちえ)を捻(ひね)る (to rack one's brains)

PARTICLE PATTERNS:

  • ～を捻(ひね)る: What is being twisted

SIMILAR WORDS:

  • 捩(ねじ)る: Similar meaning but often implies more force
  • 回(まわ)す: To turn/rotate (more general)

首(くび)を捻(ひね)る is an idiomatic expression showing confusion or deep thought.

Related Words

Related: 捻(ねじ)る (to twist (forcefully))
general
Added 2026.1.13 15:25 · Revised 2026.2.19 23:49
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