甘(あま)んじる

あまんじる
verb (ichidan)
to accept; to resign oneself to; to content oneself with
自動詞 intransitiveformal
Conjugation
AffirmativeNegative
Present甘(あま)んじる甘(あま)んじない
Present polite甘(あま)んじます甘(あま)んじません
Past甘(あま)んじた甘(あま)んじなかった
Past polite甘(あま)んじました甘(あま)んじませんでした
て form甘(あま)んじて甘(あま)んじなくて
ている present甘(あま)んじている甘(あま)んじていない
ている polite甘(あま)んじています甘(あま)んじていません
ている past甘(あま)んじていた甘(あま)んじていなかった
ている past polite甘(あま)んじていました甘(あま)んじていませんでした
Conditional ば甘(あま)んじれば甘(あま)んじなければ
Conditional たら甘(あま)んじたら甘(あま)んじなかったら
Volitional甘(あま)んじよう—
Volitional polite甘(あま)んじましょう—
Potential甘(あま)んじられる甘(あま)んじられない
Passive甘(あま)んじられる甘(あま)んじられない
Causative甘(あま)んじさせる甘(あま)んじさせない
Imperative甘(あま)んじろ甘(あま)んじるな
1. to accept; to resign oneself to; to submit to
To accept an unfavorable situation or outcome without resistance. Implies a passive acceptance of something undesirable, often because one feels powerless to change it or considers it deserved.
罰(ばつ)に甘(あま)んじる。
To accept one's punishment.
敗北(はいぼく)に甘(あま)んじるしかなかった。
I had no choice but to accept defeat.
Even when criticized, he accepted it and stuck to his convictions.
2. to content oneself with; to settle for
To be satisfied with less than what might be desired or expected. Often used with a critical nuance, suggesting the person should aspire to more.
現状(げんじょう)に甘(あま)んじてはいけない。
You must not settle for the status quo.
二位(にい)に甘(あま)んじるつもりはない。
I have no intention of settling for second place.
If you settle for a low salary, your life will never get easier.

Derived from 甘(あま)い (sweet, lenient). The verb conveys the idea of passively accepting something, as though yielding to sweetness or leniency. Most commonly appears in the pattern ~に甘(あま)んじる. The older form 甘(あま)んずる also exists but is rare in modern usage.

Common collocations

Similar words

  • 受(う)け入(い)れる: to accept — neutral; simply means to accept without the nuance of resignation
  • 我慢(がまん)する: to endure, put up with — emphasizes tolerating something unpleasant through willpower
  • 諦(あきら)める: to give up — focuses on abandoning hope, while 甘(あま)んじる focuses on accepting a lesser outcome