Meaning

Primary

To Judge

Word Type

transitive verb, godan verb

Explanation

Because the hiragana ends with an sound, you know this word is a verb. The kanji itself means judge so the verb version is to judge.

Reading

さばく
  • Kyoko
    (Tokyo accent, female)
  • Kenichi
    (Tokyo accent, male)

Explanation

Since this word consists of a kanji with hiragana attached, you can bet that it will use the kun'yomi reading. You didn't learn that reading with this kanji, so here's a mnemonic to help you:

When you go to judge people, there are different types. The one you truly hate the most, however, is the sobber (さば). "The Sobber" is the worst kind. They just sob and sob and sob and it's really hard to move on to your next judging.

Context

Context Sentences

裁判ではできるだけ公平に裁く必要があります。

In a trial it's necessary to judge as fairly as possible.

きっとアイツの罪は最高裁判所で裁かれるさ。

Surely his crime will be judged by the Supreme Court.

折角あの男が殺人犯だとが分かったのに、時効を迎えているせいで法的には誰もヤツを裁く事ができないんだ。

It finally came out that the man is a murderer, but the statute of limitations has run out, so no one can legally try him.

Kanji Composition