55
凝る

To Be Passionate About


Meaning

To Be Passionate About, To Be Into, To Grow Stiff

Word Type

intransitive verb, godan verb

Explanation

This word consists of kanji with hiragana attached. Because the hiragana ends with an う sound, you know this word is a verb. The kanji itself means congeal or freeze, so the verb version is to grow stiff. Remember 肩こり (shoulder stiffness)? This is where that こり part comes from. 凝る also means to be passionate about something. Think of it this way: your passions are freezing onto one thing, so you're going to be into that thing.


Reading

こる

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: What have all your friends started to be passionate about? Their 子s (こ). They all keep having kids and now that's all they seem to care about. Damn kids.


Context

Patterns of Use

Common Word Combinations

  • 筋肉が凝る

    to have stiff muscles

    首が凝る

    to have a stiff neck

    肩が凝る

    to have stiff shoulders

  • 釣りに凝る

    to be passionate about fishing

    写真に凝る

    to be passionate about photography

    料理に凝る

    to be into cooking

    インテリアに凝る

    to be into interior design

  • 演出が凝っている

    the stage production is elaborate

    デザインが凝っている

    the design is elaborate

  • 凝ったメニュー

    an elaborate menu

    凝った作品

    an elaborate artwork

Context Sentences

デスクワークのせいで肩や首が凝るのは仕方がない。

It's inevitable for your shoulders and neck to grow stiff from desk work.

最近、俳句に凝っているんですよ。

I've been into haiku these days.

妻の料理の盛り付けは、いつも凝っています。

My wife's plating of food is always elaborate.


Kanji Composition