JLPT N1 · Verb

控える (hikaeru)

控える (ひかえる, hikaeru) is a Japanese verb meaning “to be temperate in; to refrain”. It appears in JLPT N1 vocabulary lists and is marked as a common word in JMdict.

Reading: ひかえる
Romaji: hikaeru
Word class: Ichidan verb (る-verb)
Level: JLPT N1 (unofficial)

Meaning

to be temperate in; to refrain; to abstain; to hold back; to restrain oneself from excessive ... · ichidan verb, transitive
to make notes; to jot down (e.g. phone number) · ichidan verb, transitive
to be in preparation for; to be in waiting for · ichidan verb, intransitive
to be soon; to be in the offing · ichidan verb, intransitive
to be in a close relationship (e.g. as a backer, etc.) · ichidan verb, transitive

Example sentences

あなたは喫煙をひかえるべきです。

You should refrain from smoking.

Tatoeba #232135

先生は生徒たちにそれらの単語をノートに控えておくよう指示した。

The teacher told the pupils to write those words down in their notebooks.

Tatoeba #141556

彼女は入試を控えて神経質になっていた。

She was nervous before the entrance exam.

Tatoeba #87606

Sentences from the Tatoeba project, linked to this word in JMdict.

Conjugation of 控える

Ichidan verb (る-verb). Plain and polite forms below; try any other word in the Japanese verb conjugator.

Form	Japanese	Reading
Dictionary	控える	ひかえる hikaeru
Polite (~masu)	控えます	ひかえます hikaemasu
Negative	控えない	ひかえない hikaenai
Polite negative	控えません	ひかえません hikaemasen
Past	控えた	ひかえた hikaeta
Polite past	控えました	ひかえました hikaemashita
Negative past	控えなかった	ひかえなかった hikaenakatta
Te-form	控えて	ひかえて hikaete
Potential	控えられる	ひかえられる hikaerareru
Passive	控えられる	ひかえられる hikaerareru
Causative	控えさせる	ひかえさせる hikaesaseru
Volitional	控えよう	ひかえよう hikaeyou
Imperative	控えろ	ひかえろ hikaero
Conditional (~ba)	控えれば	ひかえれば hikaereba

Kanji in 控える

控

withdraw, draw in, hold backコウ・ひか.える・ひか.え · 11 strokes

Related words

Other vocabulary sharing a kanji with 控える.

控除こうじょsubtraction控室ひかえしつwaiting room

Source: JMdict entry 1279060 (EDRDG, CC BY-SA 4.0). Level: unofficial JLPT list – how levels are assigned.