捻(ひね)る

ひねる

godan verb

to twist; to turn; to puzzle over

Conjugation

	Affirmative	Negative
Present	捻(ひね)る	捻(ひね)らない
Present polite	捻(ひね)ります	捻(ひね)りません
Past	捻(ひね)った	捻(ひね)らなかった
Past polite	捻(ひね)りました	捻(ひね)りませんでした
て form	捻(ひね)って	捻(ひね)らなくて
ている present	捻(ひね)っている	捻(ひね)っていない
ている polite	捻(ひね)っています	捻(ひね)っていません
ている past	捻(ひね)っていた	捻(ひね)っていなかった
ている past polite	捻(ひね)っていました	捻(ひね)っていませんでした
Conditional ば	捻(ひね)れば	捻(ひね)らなければ
Conditional たら	捻(ひね)ったら	捻(ひね)らなかったら
Volitional	捻(ひね)ろう	—
Volitional polite	捻(ひね)りましょう	—
Potential	捻(ひね)れる	捻(ひね)れない
Passive	捻(ひね)られる	捻(ひね)られない
Causative	捻(ひね)らせる	捻(ひね)らせない
Imperative	捻(ひね)れ	捻(ひね)るな

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 2026.5.9 14:09

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