狭

音読おんよみ: キョウ

訓読くんよみ: せま
せばめる・せばまる

画数かくすう: 9

部首ぶしゅ: けものへん(犭)

Meaning

Narrow / Tight / Confined / Cramped

Conjugation
Tap for 狭める (tighten) Tap for 狭まる (become narrow)
  • せまい — narrow; small (space)
  • せばめる — to narrow / to make tight
  • せばまる — to become narrow
  • 狭苦せまくるしい — cramped; stuffy
  • 狭義きょうぎ — narrow / strict sense
  • 狭間はざま — 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.

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