Meaning

Primary

To Expand

Alternatives

To Swell, To Get Big, To Become Inflated

Word Type

intransitive 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 swell, so the verb version is to swell or to expand.

Reading

ふくらむ
  • Kyoko
    (Tokyo accent, female)
  • Kenichi
    (Tokyo accent, male)

Explanation

Since this word consists of a kanji with hiragana attached, you can bet that it will use the kun'yomi reading. You didn't learn that reading with this kanji, so here's a mnemonic to help you:

If someone comes up to you and says, "Hey it looks like you've really started to expand around the middle." Go ahead and say a big old, "F@#$ (ふく) you!" If someone is rude to you, dish it right back out. F@#$ that guy!

Context

Context Sentences

希望は膨らむばかりだった。

My hopes just got bigger.

Kanji Composition