Use 防ぐ to prevent an undesirable event or block something.
The idea
防ぐ is a transitive godan verb: mark what is prevented or blocked with を. An event can be nominalised with の, as in 雨が入るのを防ぐ. The polite form is 防ぎます and the て form 防いで.
| Dictionary | Polite | Negative | Past | て form |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 防ぐ | 防ぎます | 防ぎません | 防ぎました | 防いで |
Examples
- 事故を防ぐために、速度を落とします。I slow down to prevent accidents.
- 手を洗って、感染を防ぎます。I wash my hands to prevent infection.
- 早い対応が被害を防ぎました。A prompt response prevented damage.
- 傘では強い風を防げません。An umbrella cannot block a strong wind.
- 窓を閉めて、雨が入るのを防ぎます。I close the window to prevent rain from coming in.
- 火事を防ぐため、寝る前に火を消します。To prevent a fire, I put out the flame before bed.
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Watch out
The object is the harm or intrusion, not the person protected. To name that person, say 人を事故から守る. 防ぐ does not guarantee every risk disappears.
Try it yourself
＿。（防ぐ→ます）
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防ぎます
防ぎます is polite non-past; ぐ changes to ぎ before ます.
＿。（防ぐ→て）
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防いで
防いで is the て form; godan verbs ending in ぐ take いで.
手を洗って、感染＿防ぎます。（を／に）
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を
を marks 感染 as the event prevented.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Japanese sentences where available. We keep your score.
＿。（防ぐ→ます）
＿。（防ぐ→て）
手を洗って、感染＿防ぎます。（を／に）
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
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Describe a precaution with ために and 防ぐ, then use the polite past.