問い詰めます（といつめます、toitsumemasu）
- to press for answer

The Japanese verb 問い詰めます ([toitsumemasu]) means "to question insistently," "to grill," "to press for an answer," or "to interrogate." It implies a persistent and often intense questioning aimed at uncovering the truth, getting a confession, or obtaining detailed information. The implication is that the person being questioned is perhaps hiding something or being evasive. The tone is usually serious, and the questioning can be quite direct and forceful.

⚫︎警察は容疑者を問い詰めた。 Translation: The police grilled the suspect. ⚫︎彼は彼女に浮気について問い詰めた。 Translation: He pressed her about her infidelity. ⚫︎上司は部下のミスについて問い詰めた。 Translation: The boss interrogated the subordinate about their mistake.

⚫︎This word is used when someone is relentlessly questioning another person to get to the bottom of something. ⚫︎It is often used in situations where there is suspicion, a need for clarification, or a search for the truth. ⚫︎It's important to note the seriousness of the word; it's not used in casual conversations but rather when a more forceful approach is needed. The action is 問い詰める, and the more polite form of 問い詰めます is often used when speaking to someone of higher status.

⚫︎The verb 問い詰めます ([toitsumemasu]) is written in kanji and hiragana. The base form is 問い詰める ([toitsumeru]). ⚫︎問い (toi) is the question, and 詰める (tsumeru) means "to pack," "to stuff," or here, figuratively, "to fill up," "to press," or "to scrutinize." ⚫︎The okurigana (hiragana attached to the kanji) is め. ⚫︎Other conjugations include: 問い詰めた ([toitsumeta] - past tense), 問い詰めない ([toitsumenai] - negative present), 問い詰めれば ([toitsumereba] - conditional), 問い詰める ([toitsumeru] - plain form) and others derived from the verb stem 問い詰め ([toitsume])

⚫︎尋問する (jinmon suru) - to interrogate, to examine. ⚫︎尋ねる (tazuneru) - to ask, to inquire. ⚫︎追求する (tsuikyuu suru) - to pursue, to investigate. ⚫︎責める (semeru) - to blame, to criticize, although this carries a connotation of fault-finding more so than simply investigating. ⚫︎追求する (tsuikyuu suru) - to pursue (a question)

⚫︎There isn't a single direct antonym. Words that represent a gentler approach to questioning would be the closest opposite. ⚫︎聞き出す (kikidasu) - to get someone to talk, to elicit information. (This is less forceful.) ⚫︎尋ねる (tazuneru) - to ask, to inquire. (This is less forceful.)

彼は嘘をついたことがバレて、友人に激しく問い詰められた。 ・Translation: He was caught in a lie and was grilled fiercely by his friend. ・Explanation: The use of 問い詰められた (the passive form) shows the intensity of the questioning that he was subjected to because he got caught lying.

その事件の真相を解明するために、警察は証人を徹底的に問い詰めた。 ・Translation: To uncover the truth of the incident, the police thoroughly questioned the witness. ・Explanation: This sentence demonstrates the context of using 問い詰めた in a police investigation to find the truth of the events.

The word is formed by combining the noun 問い (toi), meaning "question" or "inquiry," with the verb 詰める (tsumeru), which conveys the idea of "to stuff," "to pack tightly," or, in this context, "to press" or "to concentrate on." The etymology reflects the act of focusing intensely on the questioning to get a thorough understanding or to extract a confession. The combination gives the nuance of persistent and focused questioning.