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Word 3817 of 4449

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掬う

すくう

to scoop (up); to ladle out; to dip up

By Nihongo PathUpdated

Examples

  1. 両手で水を掬った。

    りょうてでみずをすくった。

    I scooped up some water with both hands.

  2. 網で金魚を掬うのは意外に難しい。

    あみできんぎょをすくうのはいがいにむずかしい。

    Scooping up goldfish with a paper net is harder than it looks.

  3. スープの表面に浮いた脂をお玉で掬って捨ててください。

    すーぷのひょうめんにういたあぶらをおたまですくってすててください。

    Please skim the fat off the surface of the soup with a ladle and throw it away.

  4. 相手の足を掬うような真似はしたくない。

    あいてのあしをすくうようなまねはしたくない。

    I don't want to stoop to tripping up a rival.

Common patterns

水を掬う
to scoop up water
網で掬う
to scoop with a net
足を掬う
to trip someone up; to pull the rug from under someone

Memory tip

Same sound as 救う 'to rescue', and dictionaries often print both in kana — but 掬う is purely physical scooping. The idiom 足を掬う (trip someone up) is the one place you will meet it outside cooking.

Kanji in this word

  • 掬Not in the N5–N1 kanji lists

Quick check

1 / 2Multiple choiceDifficulty 4 of 5

What does 掬う mean?