凹ます
へこます
verb (godan, transitive)
to dent; to make concave; to bring (someone) down emotionally
Conjugation
| Affirmative | Negative | |
|---|---|---|
| Present | 凹ます | 凹まさない |
| Present polite | 凹まします | 凹ましません |
| Past | 凹ました | 凹まさなかった |
| Past polite | 凹ましました | 凹ましませんでした |
| て form | 凹まして | 凹まさなくて |
| ている present | 凹ましている | 凹ましていない |
| ている polite | 凹ましています | 凹ましていません |
| ている past | 凹ましていた | 凹ましていなかった |
| ている past polite | 凹ましていました | 凹ましていませんでした |
| Conditional ば | 凹ませば | 凹まさなければ |
| Conditional たら | 凹ましたら | 凹まさなかったら |
| Volitional | 凹まそう | — |
| Volitional polite | 凹ましましょう | — |
| Potential | 凹ませる | 凹ませない |
| Passive | 凹まされる | 凹まされない |
| Causative | 凹まさせる | 凹まさせない |
| Imperative | 凹ませ | 凹ますな |
1.
to dent; to make a dent in (something); to push in
To physically deform something by pushing or striking it inward, creating a concave area. The transitive counterpart of 凹む.
2.
to make (someone) feel down; to dishearten; to take down a peg
To cause someone to feel discouraged, embarrassed, or psychologically deflated — often by criticism, defeat, or a sharp comeback. The transitive counterpart of 凹む in its emotional sense.
凹ます is the transitive counterpart of 凹む. The pair has both a literal sense (causing/being a dent) and a figurative sense (causing/feeling emotional deflation).
Transitivity
Usage
- Sense 2 is informal/colloquial. The image is of someone's confidence being "dented" — often by a witty retort, defeat in argument, or harsh criticism.
- Common pattern: 誰かを凹ます (to bring someone down emotionally). Often appears in sports/competition narratives.
Common collocations
- 缶を凹ます: to dent / crush a can
- 車を凹ます: to dent a car
- 鼻っ柱を凹ます: to take down a peg (literally "dent the nose pillar" — the pride)
- 彼を凹ましてやった: I really took him down a peg
Related words
- 凹む: intransitive counterpart — to be dented; to feel down
- へこむ is also commonly used as a slang verb among younger speakers for feeling depressed or emotionally low.
- 凹み: the noun (a dent)
- 潰す: to crush, smash (broader, more violent destruction)
- 折る: to break (a different kind of damage)
Writing
The kanji 凹 is one of the simplest pictographic kanji — its shape literally depicts a concave indentation. In casual writing, the verb is often written in hiragana (へこます) for readability.