退(しりぞ)く

しりぞく
verb-godan
to retreat; to withdraw; to retire
Conjugation
AffirmativeNegative
Present退(しりぞ)く退(しりぞ)かない
Present polite退(しりぞ)きます退(しりぞ)きません
Past退(しりぞ)いた退(しりぞ)かなかった
Past polite退(しりぞ)きました退(しりぞ)きませんでした
て form退(しりぞ)いて退(しりぞ)かなくて
ている present退(しりぞ)いている退(しりぞ)いていない
ている polite退(しりぞ)いています退(しりぞ)いていません
ている past退(しりぞ)いていた退(しりぞ)いていなかった
ている past polite退(しりぞ)いていました退(しりぞ)いていませんでした
Conditional ば退(しりぞ)けば退(しりぞ)かなければ
Conditional たら退(しりぞ)いたら退(しりぞ)かなかったら
Volitional退(しりぞ)こう—
Volitional polite退(しりぞ)きましょう—
Potential退(しりぞ)ける退(しりぞ)けない
Passive退(しりぞ)かれる退(しりぞ)かれない
Causative退(しりぞ)かせる退(しりぞ)かせない
Imperative退(しりぞ)け退(しりぞ)くな
1. to retreat; to withdraw; to step back
To move back or withdraw from a position, especially in a military or physical sense.
敵(てき)が退(しりぞ)いた。
The enemy retreated.
危険(きけん)を感(かん)じて一歩(いっぽ)退(しりぞ)いた。
Sensing danger, I stepped back one step.
大軍(たいぐん)を前(まえ)にして退(しりぞ)くしかなかった。
Faced with a large army, there was no choice but to retreat.
2. to retire; to step down; to resign
To withdraw from a position, office, or role. To leave the front stage of activity.
社長(しゃちょう)の座(ざ)を退(しりぞ)いた。
He stepped down from the position of company president.
政界(せいかい)から退(しりぞ)く決意(けつい)をした。
He decided to retire from politics.
長年(ながねん)務(つと)めた役職(やくしょく)を退(しりぞ)き、後進(こうしん)に道(みち)を譲(ゆず)った。
He retired from the position he had held for many years and gave way to the next generation.

A formal verb for withdrawing, retreating, or stepping down. The retreat sense is common in historical and military contexts, while the retirement sense is used in business and politics.

COMMON COLLOCATIONS:

  • 一線(いっせん)を退(しりぞ)く: to retire from the front line
  • 政界(せいかい)から退(しりぞ)く: to retire from politics
  • 社長(しゃちょう)の座(ざ)を退(しりぞ)く: to step down as president
  • 敵(てき)が退(しりぞ)く: the enemy retreats

TRANSITIVITY:
Intransitive. The transitive counterpart is 退(しりぞ)ける (to repel, to drive back, to reject).

KANJI NOTE:
The same kanji 退(しりぞ)く is also read as ひく (to retreat, to recede) and どく (to get out of the way), but these are treated as separate words with different nuances.

SIMILAR WORDS:

  • 引(ひ)き退(さ)がる: to withdraw, to back off (less formal)
  • 辞任(じにん)する: to resign (from a specific position)
  • 引退(いんたい)する: to retire (especially from sports or entertainment)
  • 撤退(てったい)する: to withdraw, to pull out (military/business)
general
Added 2026.3.31 3:28
20500/20858_shirizoku