Words ending in 込む
The verb 込む means “to be crowded” or “to be packed”, as in 「電車が込んでいる」 “the train is crowded”. When 込む attaches to another verb’s stem, it often adds inward movement, thoroughness, or a result that lasts.
Movement into an Enclosed Space
These compounds describe movement into a room, vehicle, or other enclosed space.
Thrusting into with 突っ込む
The verb 突く means to poke or stab. Adding 込む makes the motion forcefully inward, so 突っ込む means to thrust or plunge into something. Lulu recognizes the dropped charm she found as the one she made for her childhood friend Zen before he moved away. A delinquent classmate takes it from her and throws it into the school incinerator to defy Zen. Lulu tries to retrieve it, but the fire forces her back. Zen appears and reaches into the flames.
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Zen does more than poke at the incinerator. He thrusts his hand into it.
Diving into with 飛び込む
飛ぶ can mean to jump or fly. Adding 込む narrows the direction, so 飛び込む means to jump in or dive. Takeo and Sunakawa meet Yamato at the park. Yamato sees that Takeo is soaked. Sunakawa explains that they saved a child from drowning.
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Sunakawa says Takeo 飛び込んだ, so Takeo dove into the river rather than merely jumping.
Boarding a Vehicle with 乗り込む
Used alone, 乗る means to get on or ride something. The compound 乗り込む focuses on entering a vehicle, often with a particular purpose. Following the kidnapping of a pop music duo, the police are forced to rely on Conan and his friends to deliver the ransom. The kids speak to one of the kidnappers by phone at the subway station, with the police force watching from a distance. When a subway car is about to close its doors, the kids suddenly bolt onto the nearest car, three of the four making it on before the doors close.
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Losing One’s Way with 迷い込む
迷う means to lose one’s way. Adding 込む makes 迷い込む “to stray into a place”. Zen lived in a glittering, idyllic town until his family moved. During his first day of school, he found everyone to be glaring and rugged. Rather than being gentle and playful, his classmates sought a brawl and chased after him.
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With 迷う alone, Zen would simply be lost. 込む points toward the destination marked by に. He has wandered into another world and become lost there.
Filling or Packing Something In
Here, 込む focuses on the result of filling a limited space rather than the movement into it.
Dragging into a Situation 巻き込む
巻く means to wind or wrap something. The compound 巻き込む can mean physically rolling something in or figuratively dragging someone into a situation, often an unwelcome one.
巻き込む is one of the most common compounds ending in 込む. If Chino defeats Chiya at chess, her prize for winning is for Cocoa to call her big sister. Cocoa, in the distance, overhears the bet.
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Making a Request with 申し込む
申し込む is a fixed compound, so its parts do not reliably predict its meaning. It means to apply or request. The noun form is 申し込み. After starting her first year of high school, Rin signs up for the same club as her upperclassmen from middle school. She expected to be signing up for the kendo club, only to find that Ayumu (Tanaka) and Takeru are in the shogi club now. Rin tells Urushi, as the club’s leader, to give them back.
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Going Deep into a Mental or Emotional State
This category moves away from a physical space, with meanings involving the mind or the self. 込む in these words adds the sense of sinking deeply into a state and staying there.
Falling into Depression with 落ち込む
The verb 落ちる means to fall. 落ち込む applies that downward movement to someone’s mood and means to become depressed or fall into a slump.
落ち込む is one of the most common compounds ending in 込む. It can also describe physically falling into a hole. Yukari doesn’t like carrots, so she offers the ones from her lunch to Mina, who gladly accepts. Mina offers one of her dumplings in return, but Yukari is hesitant to accept because Mina did her a favor by taking the carrots. Sanae takes the opportunity to snatch the dumpling and eat it herself, claiming that neither of the other two seemed to want it. Mina mutters that she never said that.
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Here, Mina is feeling down because someone took the return offer she meant for Yukari.
Conviction with 思い込む
思う means to think. Adding 込む gives the sense that the thought has become conviction. One’s mind is set on it being true. Chii tries to hypnotize her mother using a coin on a string. When Chii gets sleepy instead, her mother suggests Chii’s hypnotized herself instead. As Chii lies down on the sofa for a nap, her mother gives the hypnotic suggestion that Chii will become a cat. When Chii wakes later, she finds her father is home from work. But when he sees her, he asks why there’s a cat on the sofa.
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Rather than just thinking Chii is a cat, her father seems convinced that she really is a cat.
Enthusiastic About Something with 入れ込む
入れる means to put something in. The compound 入れ込む can mean to devote intense interest or energy to someone or something. Gin and Vodka finally find Sherry, but after multiple gunshots are fired, she escapes. Vodka thinks they should continue to search for her, but Gin says there’s no way she’ll stay in town after their encounter.
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Gin’s detailed grasp of Sherry’s thinking shows how much attention he has invested in her.
Staying Put Once You’ve Entered
込む can also stress remaining in a state for a long time. The person enters the state and does not quickly come back out.
In each word below, the state continues.
Thoroughly Simmered with 煮込む
On its own, 煮る means to boil or simmer. Compounding it to 煮込む keeps it in that state, giving something that is simmered thoroughly. As part of their training, Akari, Aika, and Alice prepare a meal and host a large dinner.
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The green beans simmered for a long time.
Bedridden with 寝込む
寝る means to sleep. 寝込む extends the state and usually means to be confined to bed by illness. It can also describe someone sleeping so deeply that they are unlikely to wake soon. Takagi is home sick. Nishikata brings a printout from school to her room, and she asks him to stay. She thanks him for keeping her company.
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Takagi’s illness kept her in bed for the day.
Plopping Down with 座り込む
座る means to sit. 座り込む means to sit down and remain in that spot. The Winter Cup basketball tournament has arrived, and Taiki is there to cheer on Chinatsu in the competition. He’s feeling so nervous that his legs give out and he falls into a crouch on the ground outside the event. In this state, he doesn’t see his upperclassman from the badminton club approaching.
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込む shows that Taiki stays seated even though he is blocking people walking through the area.