引

音読おんよみ: イン

訓読くんよみ: ひく・ひける

画数かくすう: 4

部首ぶしゅ: 弓（ゆみへん）

Meaning

To pull / Draw / Attract

  • Basic forms
  • 引く — to pull; to draw / base form
  • 引きます — (I) pull; (I) draw / masu form
  • 引いた — pulled; drew / ta form
  • 引いて — pull and …; please pull / te-form
  • 引かない — don’t pull; don’t draw / negative form
  • 引けば — if (someone) pulls; if you pull / conditional
  • 引け・引きなさい — pull!; please pull / imperative
  • Other common forms
  • 引きたい — want to pull; want to draw / 〜たい form
  • 引ける — can pull; be able to pull / potential
  • 引けた — was able to pull / past potential
  • 引けない — cannot pull; can’t bring oneself to pull / negative potential
  • More
  • 引こう — let’s pull; let’s draw / 〜よう form
  • 引かなかった — didn’t pull; didn’t draw / past negative
  • 引いている — is pulling; is drawing / progressive
引く（ひく） is a godan (5-dan) verb ending in く.
The stem shifts く → き → い in forms like 引く・引きます・引いて.
  • 引力いんりょく — gravity / attraction
  • 引越ひっこし — moving (house)
  • 引用いんよう — quotation / citation
  • 引退いんたい — retirement
  • 強引ごういん — pushy / forceful
  • 引ひき算ざん — subtraction
  • 引ひき出だし — drawer; withdrawal
Compound - tap to expand
  • 引ひき受うける — to take on; to undertake
  • 引ひき分わけ — draw; tie (in a game)
  • 引ひき止とめる — to detain; to persuade to stay
  • 引ひき返かえす — to turn back; to retrace one’s steps

引 combines the image of a bow (弓) with a hand pulling a string. It began as a pictograph of tension — pulling something taut.

Today, it extends far beyond physical pulling: it can describe drawing attention, attracting people, quoting text, or subtracting numbers.

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