絶える
たえる
verb (ichidan)
to cease, to die out, to run out
Conjugation
| Affirmative | Negative | |
|---|---|---|
| Present | 絶える | 絶えない |
| Present polite | 絶えます | 絶えません |
| Past | 絶えた | 絶えなかった |
| Past polite | 絶えました | 絶えませんでした |
| て form | 絶えて | 絶えなくて |
| ている present | 絶えている | 絶えていない |
| ている polite | 絶えています | 絶えていません |
| ている past | 絶えていた | 絶えていなかった |
| ている past polite | 絶えていました | 絶えていませんでした |
| Conditional ば | 絶えれば | 絶えなければ |
| Conditional たら | 絶えたら | 絶えなかったら |
| Volitional | 絶えよう | — |
| Volitional polite | 絶えましょう | — |
| Potential | 絶えられる | 絶えられない |
| Passive | 絶えられる | 絶えられない |
| Causative | 絶えさせる | 絶えさせない |
| Imperative | 絶えろ | 絶えるな |
1.
to cease, to come to an end, to be cut off
For something that was continuing to stop completely. Often used for communication, sound, supply, or a continuous state being interrupted.
連絡が絶えた。
Contact was cut off.
客足が絶えない人気店だ。
It's a popular shop where the flow of customers never stops.
笑いの絶えない家庭を築きたい。
I want to build a home that is always full of laughter.
Literally: a home where laughter never ceases.
2.
to die out, to become extinct, to be discontinued
For a lineage, species, tradition, or practice to completely disappear, with no continuation remaining.
この技術は後継者がおらず絶えてしまった。
This craft died out because there were no successors.
家系が絶える。
A family line dies out.
戦争で村の伝統行事が絶えてしまった。
The village's traditional events were lost due to the war.
GRAMMAR:
Ichidan verb (絶える → 絶えます). Intransitive. Very commonly used in the negative form 絶えない (never ceases), which has a positive nuance: 笑いが絶えない (always laughing), 客が絶えない (always busy with customers).
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 連絡が絶える: contact is lost
- 笑いが絶えない: laughter never stops
- 客足が絶えない: customers keep coming
- 家系が絶える: a family line dies out
- 息が絶える: to breathe one's last
SIMILAR WORDS:
The homophone 耐える means "to endure" — a completely different word. 途絶える is a near-synonym that emphasizes interruption of something expected to continue.