Japanese

ほほえむ
Meaning: to smile
Part of Speech: Verb

Listen to pronunciation

Show inflections Hide inflections

Verb inflections

Form Affirmative Negative
Present 微笑む 微笑まない
Polite 微笑みます 微笑みません
Past 微笑んだ 微笑まなかった
Polite + Past 微笑みました 微笑みませんでした
Te-form 微笑んで 微笑まなくて
Potential 微笑める 微笑めない
Passive 微笑まれる 微笑まれない
Causative 微笑ませる 微笑ませない
Causative + Passive 微笑まされる 微笑まされない
Imperative 微笑め 微笑むな

Example sentences

母親は赤ちゃんの顔を見て、優しく微笑んだ。
The mother looked at the baby's face and smiled gently.
彼は自信ありげに微笑んだ。
He smiled with a confident look on his face.
勝利の女神が微笑んだ。
The goddess of victory smiled upon us.
その婦人は優雅に微笑んだ。
The lady smiled elegantly.
彼女は私の冗談を聞いて、ニッコリと微笑んだ。
She heard my joke and gave a beaming smile.

Usage Notes

Specifically refers to a faint smile without making a sound. Also used figuratively for flowers starting to bloom.

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.