Conjugation
Tap for 狭める (tighten)
Tap for 狭まる (become narrow)
- 狭い — narrow; small (space)
- 狭める — to narrow / to make tight
- 狭まる — to become narrow
- 狭苦しい — cramped; stuffy
- 狭義 — narrow / strict sense
- 狭間 — gap / in-between space
A phono-semantic character: the radical 犭 marks the set, while 夾 (in the old form) supplies the sound and the idea of “pressing from both sides.” The core nuance is a space made tight or squeezed, which is why 狭い describes confined places. Compare with 細い, which emphasizes thinness rather than confinement.