What does -komu (～込む) at the end of a word mean?


There are loads of words in Japanese which end in 込{こ}む, like 吸{す}い込む,
読{よ}み込む, 入{はい}り込む, 打{う}ち込む, 売{う}り込む, 送{おく}り込む, 押{お}し込む. How does adding ～込む
change the meaning? What is the meaning that links all these words?




込む by itself can be interpreted as a intransitive verb to mean "jammed in",
"packed in", "crowded". For example 電車が込む

However, when 込む is used with compound verbs it can have 3 different
interpretations.

  1. ‘to enter; put something in/into’

Implies a physical transition where an object (or a person) shifts from a
place into an enclosed location.

Examples  
雨が吹き込む - Rain blows in.  
飛び込む - Jump in/Dive.

  2. 'to do/become something thoroughly/fully/deeply/intensively'

Normally denotes that someone undergoes a certain physical/psychological
occurrence that produces physical/mental changes or development.

Examples  
教え込む - Inculcate a thing (in a person’s mind); instill into (a person); give a
good training.  
思い込む - Be convinced; be under the impression; set one’s heart; fall in love.

  3. ‘to continue an action within the same condition’

Indicates that someone is involved in a physical recurrent action.

Examples  
黙り込む - Fall silent; keep one’s mouth shut; clam up.

Reference: [高橋 直子, “Syntactic Complexity of _Komu_ -compounds in Japanese”,
名古屋外国語大学外国語学部紀要 (Journal of School of Foreign Languages, Nagoya University of
Foreign Studies) 36 (2009), 169–193.](https://nufs-
nuas.repo.nii.ac.jp/?action=pages_view_main&active_action=repository_view_main_item_detail&item_id=294&item_no=1&page_id=13&block_id=17)
([PDF](https://nufs-
nuas.repo.nii.ac.jp/?action=repository_uri&item_id=294&file_id=22&file_no=1))




込む by itself can be interpreted as a intransitive verb to mean "jammed in",
"packed in", "crowded". For example 電車が込む

However, when 込む is used with compound verbs it can have 3 different
interpretations.

  1. ‘to enter; put something in/into’

Implies a physical transition where an object (or a person) shifts from a
place into an enclosed location.

Examples  
雨が吹き込む - Rain blows in.  
飛び込む - Jump in/Dive.

  2. 'to do/become something thoroughly/fully/deeply/intensively'

Normally denotes that someone undergoes a certain physical/psychological
occurrence that produces physical/mental changes or development.

Examples  
教え込む - Inculcate a thing (in a person’s mind); instill into (a person); give a
good training.  
思い込む - Be convinced; be under the impression; set one’s heart; fall in love.

  3. ‘to continue an action within the same condition’

Indicates that someone is involved in a physical recurrent action.

Examples  
黙り込む - Fall silent; keep one’s mouth shut; clam up.

Reference: [高橋 直子, “Syntactic Complexity of _Komu_ -compounds in Japanese”,
名古屋外国語大学外国語学部紀要 (Journal of School of Foreign Languages, Nagoya University of
Foreign Studies) 36 (2009), 169–193.](https://nufs-
nuas.repo.nii.ac.jp/?action=pages_view_main&active_action=repository_view_main_item_detail&item_id=294&item_no=1&page_id=13&block_id=17)
([PDF](https://nufs-
nuas.repo.nii.ac.jp/?action=repository_uri&item_id=294&file_id=22&file_no=1))

