すくめる
すくめる
verb (ichidan)
to shrug; to hunch
1.
to shrug, to hunch
To draw in or raise one's shoulders, either as a gesture of uncertainty or to make oneself smaller. Most commonly used in the phrase 肩をすくめる (to shrug one's shoulders).
肩をすくめた。
I shrugged my shoulders.
彼は肩をすくめて笑った。
He shrugged his shoulders and laughed.
何も知らないと言うように肩をすくめて見せた。
She shrugged as if to say she didn't know anything.
CONJUGATION:
- すくめない（否定）
- すくめます（丁寧）
- すくめて（て形）
- すくめた（過去）
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 肩をすくめる: to shrug one's shoulders (the most common usage)
- 首をすくめる: to draw in one's neck, to duck one's head
PAIR: すくめる（他動詞）↔ すくむ（自動詞）= to freeze, to cower
USAGE: Almost always appears with 肩を or 首を as the object. The gesture of shrugging shoulders is less natural in Japanese culture, so this expression often appears in translated literature or when describing Western-style gestures.