1.
to let one's guard down; to relax one's attention; to lose focus
To stop paying careful attention or to become careless, often at a moment when vigilance is still needed. Usually carries a warning nuance — relaxing too soon can lead to mistakes or problems.
まだ気を抜くな。
Don't let your guard down yet.
試合の途中で気を抜いたら逆転された。
I let my guard down during the match and they came from behind to win.
最後まで気を抜かずに頑張ろう。
Let's stay focused and do our best until the very end.
運転中は一瞬でも気を抜くと事故につながる。
When driving, even a moment of lost focus can lead to an accident.
Literally 'to pull out one's spirit/energy.' The image is of deflating or releasing the tension that keeps one alert. Most commonly used in negative or cautionary contexts: 気を抜くな (don't let your guard down), 気を抜かずに (without letting one's guard down).
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 気を抜くな: don't let your guard down
- 気を抜かずに: without losing focus
- 一瞬でも気を抜く: to lose focus even for an instant
- ちょっと気を抜いた隙に: in the moment one relaxed
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 油断する: to be careless, let one's guard down — similar meaning but more about overall negligence; often used as a noun
- 気を緩める: to relax one's guard — very similar; slightly softer nuance
- 手を抜く: to cut corners, slack off — different meaning; refers to doing work carelessly or incompletely