Meaning

Primary

To Give Birth

Alternative

To Produce

Word Type

transitive verb, godan verb

Explanation

This word consists of kanji with hiragana attached. Because the hiragana ends with an sound, you know this word is a verb. The kanji itself means "life" so what is the verb form of that? Would it be "to do life"? No, probably not. In this case it is to give birth, or to produce.

You'll have to differentiate this one from the word 生まれる as well. You can remember that this one means "to give birth" because when you compare, the act of giving birth probably feels shorter than the act of being birthed, at least in terms of sheer terror. The pain of giving birth will make it feel quick, when you look back on it... but just imagine how traumatized the baby must be from going through that as well. So, the act of giving birth is shorter, just like the word itself!

Reading

うむ
  • Kyoko
    (Tokyo accent, female)
  • Kenichi
    (Tokyo accent, male)

Explanation

You have to remember the  part of this word to be able to read it. It's the same as 生まれる, so that could help if you've learned that word already. If not, just imagine yourself giving birth, but not to a baby. Instead, it's an uni () you're delivering. Luckily, uni aren't fully formed with their spikes at birth so it shouldn't be a problem. Ooof! What a relief!

Context

Common Word Combinations

  • 子を生む

    to give birth to a child

    赤ちゃんを生む

    to give birth to a baby

    子犬を生む

    to give birth to a puppy

Context Sentences

お金は不正を生む。

Money breeds fraud.

このレストランのオーナーが、日本のイタリアンの人気を生んだシェフです。

The owner of this restaurant is the chef who made Italian cuisine popular in Japan.

主人の子ではなかったが、生むしかなかった。

Even though it wasn’t my husband’s, I had no choice but to give birth to the baby.

Kanji Composition