絶える
たえる
to die out, to cease
By Nihongo PathUpdated
Examples
客足が絶えない。
きゃくあしがたえない。
Customers never stop coming.
連絡が絶えて三年になる。
れんらくがたえてさんねんになる。
It has been three years since we lost contact.
その一族は跡継ぎがなく絶えた。
そのいちぞくはあとつぎがなくたえた。
With no heir, the family line died out.
Common patterns
- 連絡が絶える
- for contact to break off
- 息が絶える
- to breathe one's last
- 絶え間なく
- without a break
Memory tip
It is intransitive: something ceases or dies out of itself, while the transitive partner is 絶つ, as in 連絡を絶つ. Careful with the homophone 耐える 'to endure', which is also たえる.
Kanji in this word
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What does 絶える mean?