掘る (horu)
掘る (ほる, horu) is a Japanese verb meaning “to dig; to excavate”. It appears in JLPT N2 vocabulary lists and is marked as a common word in JMdict.
- Reading
- ほる
- Romaji
- horu
- Word class
- Godan verb (う-verb) ending in る
- Level
- JLPT N2 (unofficial)
Meaning
- to dig; to excavate; to hollow · godan verb, transitive
- to delve into · godan verb, transitive
- to dig up (vegetables, treasure, etc.); to mine (coal, ore, etc.) · godan verb, transitive
- to top; to take the active role in anal sex (with another man) · godan verb, transitive · slang, vulgar
Example sentences
Sentences from the Tatoeba project, linked to this word in JMdict.
Conjugation of 掘る
Godan verb (う-verb) ending in る. Plain and polite forms below; try any other word in the Japanese verb conjugator.
| Form | Japanese | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| Dictionary | 掘る | ほる horu |
| Polite (~masu) | 掘ります | ほります horimasu |
| Negative | 掘らない | ほらない horanai |
| Polite negative | 掘りません | ほりません horimasen |
| Past | 掘った | ほった hotta |
| Polite past | 掘りました | ほりました horimashita |
| Negative past | 掘らなかった | ほらなかった horanakatta |
| Te-form | 掘って | ほって hotte |
| Potential | 掘れる | ほれる horeru |
| Passive | 掘られる | ほられる horareru |
| Causative | 掘らせる | ほらせる horaseru |
| Volitional | 掘ろう | ほろう horou |
| Imperative | 掘れ | ほれ hore |
| Conditional (~ba) | 掘れば | ほれば horeba |
Kanji in 掘る
Related words
Other vocabulary sharing a kanji with 掘る.
採掘さいくつmining発掘はっくつexcavation
Source: JMdict entry 1246690 (EDRDG, CC BY-SA 4.0). Level: unofficial JLPT list – how levels are assigned.