くじける

くじける
verb (ichidan)
to be discouraged; to lose heart; to sprain
自動詞 intransitiveemotionhealth
Conjugation
AffirmativeNegative
Presentくじけるくじけない
Present politeくじけますくじけません
Pastくじけたくじけなかった
Past politeくじけましたくじけませんでした
て formくじけてくじけなくて
ている presentくじけているくじけていない
ている politeくじけていますくじけていません
ている pastくじけていたくじけていなかった
ている past politeくじけていましたくじけていませんでした
Conditional ばくじければくじけなければ
Conditional たらくじけたらくじけなかったら
Volitionalくじけよう
Volitional politeくじけましょう
Potentialくじけられるくじけられない
Passiveくじけられるくじけられない
Causativeくじけさせるくじけさせない
Imperativeくじけろくじけるな
1. to be discouraged; to lose heart; to give up
To lose one's motivation or willpower in the face of difficulty or setback.
(こころ)くじける。
To lose heart.
I won't give up no matter how many times I fail.
Without losing heart in the face of difficulty, I persevered to the end.
2. to sprain; to twist (an ankle or joint)
To injure a joint by twisting or bending it unnaturally.
足首(あしくび)くじけた。
I sprained my ankle.
I twisted my foot on the stairs.
I twisted my foot while running and had to withdraw from the match.

An intransitive ichidan verb with two distinct meanings: psychological (losing heart) and physical (spraining). The psychological sense is far more common in everyday conversation.

Common collocations

  • (こころ)くじける: to lose heart
  • 気持(きも)くじける: to become demoralized
  • くじけそうなる: to feel like giving up
  • くじけない: to not give up, to persevere

Usage

The negative form くじけない is especially common and has a motivational, encouraging nuance. Often used in contexts of perseverance and resilience.

Similar words

  • 挫折(ざせつ)する: to suffer a setback — more formal; often implies a complete failure or collapse of plans
  • (あきら)める: to give up — a deliberate decision to stop trying, whereas くじける is more about emotional deflation
  • くじく (transitive): to crush, to break someone's spirit — the transitive counterpart