Japanese

しっぽをふる
Meaning: to fawn over someone; to curry favor
Part of Speech: Verb, Idiom

Listen to pronunciation

Show inflections Hide inflections

Verb inflections

Form Affirmative Negative
Present 尻尾を振る 尻尾を振らない
Polite 尻尾を振ります 尻尾を振りません
Past 尻尾を振った 尻尾を振らなかった
Polite + Past 尻尾を振りました 尻尾を振りませんでした
Te-form 尻尾を振って 尻尾を振らなくて
Potential 尻尾を振れる 尻尾を振れない
Passive 尻尾を振られる 尻尾を振られない
Causative 尻尾を振らせる 尻尾を振らせない
Causative + Passive 尻尾を振らされる 尻尾を振らされない
Imperative 尻尾を振れ 尻尾を振るな

Example sentences

彼は出世のために上司に尻尾を振る同僚を冷たい目で見た。
He looked coldly at a coworker who fawned over the boss to get ahead.
人懐っこい犬は、客を見るとすぐ尻尾を振る。
A friendly dog wags its tail as soon as it sees a visitor.

Usage Notes

This idiom has a negative tone and is used when someone flatters a stronger person for personal advantage.

Sottaku

About Sottaku

Sottaku is an app for learning Chinese, Japanese, Korean, English, Spanish, French, German, and Italian with a strong focus on SRS. It includes automatic flashcard creation for hundreds of thousands of words, grammar breakdowns in example sentences, language-specific study packs where available, adaptive quizzes, mobile apps, a browser extension, and community features. Give it a try now! All learning content is free with no limits on flashcards or study time.

Sottaku is built to match the habits of successful learners. By using Sottaku, you will naturally learn in the most efficient way possible, as proven by countless success stories in the language learning community.

Free Forever

Access all grammar guides, quizzes, and flashcards without paying a cent. Quality education should be accessible to everyone.

Smart SRS System

Our flashcard system uses the FSRS algorithm (also used in Anki) to optimize your review schedule and maximize retention.

Comprehensive Content

From hanzi, kana, hangul, and European vocabulary basics to grammar and reading practice where available, we have lessons for every level. Practice with quizzes tailored to your skill.

Community Chat

Ask level-appropriate questions and get help from the community. Learn together with fellow learners across all 8 supported languages.