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掴む

つかむ

to grab, grasp

By Nihongo PathUpdated

Examples

  1. 子供の腕を掴んだ。

    こどものうでをつかんだ。

    I grabbed the child's arm.

  2. 転びそうになって、手すりを掴んだ。

    ころびそうになって、てすりをつかんだ。

    I nearly fell and grabbed the handrail.

  3. やっとチャンスを掴んだね。

    やっとチャンスをつかんだね。

    You finally seized your chance.

Common patterns

手を掴む
to grab someone's hand
チャンスを掴む
to seize a chance
意味を掴む
to grasp the meaning

Memory tip

掴む is grabbing suddenly and firmly, often something that might get away; 握る is closing your hand around something and holding it. Both extend to abstract things — チャンスを掴む is the mirror image of チャンスを逃す.

Kanji in this word

  • 掴Not in the N5–N1 kanji lists

Quick check

1 / 2Multiple choiceDifficulty 2 of 5

What does 掴む mean?