傾(かたむ)く

かたむく
godan verb
to incline; to lean; to decline
1. to incline; to lean; to tilt
To slope or slant in a particular direction.
塔(とう)が右(みぎ)に傾(かたむ)いている。
The tower is leaning to the right.
地震(じしん)で家(いえ)が傾(かたむ)いてしまった。
The house was tilted by the earthquake.
船(ふね)が左(ひだり)に大(おお)きく傾(かたむ)いた。
The ship leaned heavily to the left.
2. to decline; to wane
To decrease in power, prosperity, or intensity.
日(ひ)が傾(かたむ)いてきた。
The sun is beginning to set.
景気(けいき)が悪(わる)くなり、会社(かいしゃ)の経営(けいえい)が傾(かたむ)いた。
The economy worsened and the company's management declined.
西(にし)に傾(かたむ)いた日差(ひざ)しが部屋(へや)に差(さ)し込(こ)んだ。
The westward-slanting sunlight streamed into the room.
3. to lean toward; to be inclined to
To show a tendency or preference toward something.
彼女(かのじょ)の意見(いけん)に傾(かたむ)きつつある。
I am leaning toward her opinion.
世論(よろん)が賛成(さんせい)の方(ほう)に傾(かたむ)きつつある。
Public opinion is leaning toward approval.
話(はなし)を聞(き)いて、彼(かれ)の提案(ていあん)に心(こころ)が傾(かたむ)いた。
After hearing the explanation, I felt inclined toward his proposal.

傾(かたむ)く is intransitive (自動詞(じどうし)). The transitive pair is 傾(かたむ)ける (to incline something, to devote).

ASPECT ({ている}):
傾(かたむ)いている indicates a resulting state of being tilted or leaning.

COMMON PATTERNS:

  • 日(ひ)が傾(かたむ)く (the sun sets/wanes)
  • 右(みぎ)に傾(かたむ)く (to lean to the right)
  • ～に傾(かたむ)く (to lean toward ~)
  • 家(いえ)が傾(かたむ)く (a family declines - figurative)

PARTICLE PATTERNS:

  • ～が傾(かたむ)く: What is leaning
  • ～に傾(かたむ)く: Direction of leaning, or what one is inclined toward

FIGURATIVE USAGE:
日(ひ)が傾(かたむ)く literally means "the sun inclines" but idiomatically refers to sunset. The expression 家(いえ)が傾(かたむ)く means a family's fortunes are declining.

Related Words

Pair verb: 傾(かたむ)ける (transitive)
Related: 傾向(けいこう) (tendency)
general
Added 2026.1.13 15:25 · Revised 2026.2.19 23:52
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