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Word 1357 of 2920

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頷く

うなずく

to nod

By Nihongo PathUpdated

Examples

  1. 彼女は黙って頷いた。

    かのじょはだまってうなずいた。

    She nodded silently.

  2. 説明を聞いて、彼は大きく頷いた。

    せつめいをきいて、かれはおおきくうなずいた。

    After hearing the explanation, he gave a big nod.

  3. 彼の意見には頷ける点が多い。

    かれのいけんにはうなずけるてんがおおい。

    There is a lot in his opinion that makes sense.

Common patterns

大きく頷く
to nod deeply
黙って頷く
to nod without speaking
頷ける話
a story that makes sense

Memory tip

Usually written in kana as うなずく. The potential form 頷ける is idiomatic and means 'that makes sense / I can go along with that'. The opposite gesture is 首を振る, shaking your head for no.

Kanji in this word

  • 頷Not in the N5–N1 kanji lists

Quick check

1 / 2Multiple choiceDifficulty 3 of 5

What does 頷く mean?