擦れる
すれる
verb (ichidan)
to rub; to chafe; to wear thin; to become jaded
Conjugation
| Affirmative | Negative | |
|---|---|---|
| Present | 擦れる | 擦れない |
| Present polite | 擦れます | 擦れません |
| Past | 擦れた | 擦れなかった |
| Past polite | 擦れました | 擦れませんでした |
| て form | 擦れて | 擦れなくて |
| ている present | 擦れている | 擦れていない |
| ている polite | 擦れています | 擦れていません |
| ている past | 擦れていた | 擦れていなかった |
| ている past polite | 擦れていました | 擦れていませんでした |
| Conditional ば | 擦れれば | 擦れなければ |
| Conditional たら | 擦れたら | 擦れなかったら |
| Volitional | 擦れよう | — |
| Volitional polite | 擦れましょう | — |
| Potential | 擦れられる | 擦れられない |
| Passive | 擦れられる | 擦れられない |
| Causative | 擦れさせる | 擦れさせない |
| Imperative | 擦れろ | 擦れるな |
1.
to rub against; to graze; to chafe
For two surfaces to come into rubbing contact, typically causing wear, irritation, or sound. Often used of clothing, skin, machine parts, or feet in shoes.
2.
to wear thin; to fray; to become worn from rubbing
For a surface or material to gradually wear down due to friction over time — cuffs, knees of jeans, tire treads, the spine of a well-read book.
3.
to become jaded; to become worldly-wise; to lose innocence
Figurative use: for a person to be ground down by experience into a cynical or cunning state. Often used of children who have grown up too quickly or adults who have lost their idealism.
Intransitive ichidan verb. The transitive counterpart is 擦る (to rub something). Note that the same kanji 擦} is also read こすれる (see {entry 28426), which is essentially synonymous with sense 1 but slightly less formal.
Transitivity
- intransitive: 〜が}{擦れる
- transitive pair: 〜を擦る (to rub something)
Common collocations
- 袖が擦れる: the sleeves are worn
- 肌が擦れる: the skin gets chafed
- 人擦れする: to become jaded (compound; same verb)
- 擦れて穴が開く: to wear through to a hole
Sense 3 idiom
The figurative "become jaded" sense is most often heard in the compound 人擦れする — literally "rubbed by people" — describing someone made cynical by exposure to the harsher side of human nature.