How to use まくる ( = makuru)

「僕のこと、見つめまくってなあ。」

= Boku no koto, mitsumemakutteru naa.

= She has been staring at me. 


Hi everyone! Today’s guest teachers are Sano and Suzu. 

They are going to teach you how to use the word Vまくる ( = makuru) today.

It is another JLPT 1 level word but it is not that difficult. 

****

Hi! I am Sano and the one who is staring at me is Suzu. 

じーっ/ ジーッ ( = jii) is a mimetic word which means “firmly/ intently/still ” 

:rrrr: じっとする ( = jitto suru ) / じーっとする ( = jiitto suru) to stay still 

 :rrrr: じっと見つめる ( = jitto mitsumeru ) / じーっとみる( = jiitto miru)   to stare at someone

Suzu has been staring my face. I know I am a handsome cat, but why? I wonder if she noticed that I ate her snack. 

 :w: From the picture above:

「僕のこと、見つめまくってるなあ。」

= Boku no koto, mitsumemakutteru naa.

= She has been staring at me. 

 *見つめている( = mitsumeteiru )  “to be staring at someone”

 :rrrr: 見つめまくっている= mitsumemakutte iru

= keep staring at someone /to stare at someone a lot./ intensively. 

You sometimes drop ( = i) in casual speech 

 :rrrr: 見つめまくって = mitsumemakutteru

How to form:

verb masu stem + まくる ( = makuru)

食べる = taberu = to eat

1) make a masu form: 食べます= たべます= tabemasu

2) make a masu stem dropping ます ( = masu):  食べ = たべ = tabe 

3) add まくる ( = makuru): 食べまくる = たべまくる = tabemakuru =  to pig out, to eat a lot, to gobble

When to use:

You use Vまくる (  = makuru) when you do something a lot, intensely, fully, totally, to go on and on / ~ binge 

When we hear a verb with まくる( = makuru) we automatically imagine someone being absorbed in doing something in an almost frantic way.

「今日は、一日食べまくるからね!」

= Kyou wa, ichinichi tabemakuru karane!

= I’m going to eat and eat all day long today!

And — like in the English translation above — you sometimes repeat the verb to emphasize the action more.

食べて、食べて、食べまくる

= tabete, tabete, tabemakuru 

= (Literal) Eat, eat and eat a lot.

It is a casual suffix so you should avoid using this with a superior.

X どうぞ食べまくってください。

= Douzo tabemakutte kudasai.

= Please eat a lot. / Go ahead and help yourself to as much as you want.

Instead say

 :rrrr: どうぞたくさん召し上がってください。

= Douzo takusan meshiagatte kudasai.

 (describing someone superior’s action)

昨日、ご主人が食べまくっているのをお見かけしました。(It sounds rude) 

= Kinou, goshujin ga tabemakutte iru no wo omikake shimashita.

= I saw your husband “gorging” himself yesterday.

to do something a lot / keep doing something, to do something repeatedly. / to do ~ with reckless abandon. 

( You also use it to describe something happens intensively even if just for a short period of time.)

Ex. 安いお酒を飲みまくったので気持ちが悪い。

= Yasui osake wo nomimakutta node kimochi ga warui.

= I feel sick because I drank too much cheap sake.

Ex. 宝くじに当たったら、お金を使いまくる

= Takarakuji ni atattara, okane wo tsukaimakuru

= If I win the lottery, I’ll go on a spending spree.

Ex. 夏休みに入ったら遊びまくりたい。

Natsuyasumi ni haittara asobimakuritai.

= I want to play as much as I can when summer vacation starts.

Ex. 働きまくってお金を貯めても病気になっては*元も子もない。

= Hatarakimakutte okane wo tametemo byouki ni natte wa moto mo ko mo nai.

= Even if you just work and work and save up money, it is pointless if you get sick.

[* Idiom note: 元も子もない moto mo ko mo nai = to lose everything, to be pointless]

Ex. 急に、彼女が昨日はどこに行ったか聞いてきて、焦りまくった

= Kyuu ni, kanojo ga kinou wa doko ni itta ka kiitekite, aserimakutta.

= My girlfriend asked me where I was yesterday, and I panicked. 

Ex. 彼は日曜日なのに仕事をしまくっていた。

= Kare wa nichiyoubi nanoni shigoto wo shimakutteita.

= He just worked and worked even on Sunday.

Ex. 漢字を書きまくって覚える。

= Kanji wo kakimakutte oboeru.

= to memorize kanji by just writing them repeatedly.

Ex. 明日、日本語の試験なので1日勉強しまくった

= Ashita, nihongo no shiken nano de ichinichi benkyou shimakutta.

= I have a Japanese exam tomorrow so I studied hard all day long. 

Ex. カラオケで歌いまくってストレスを発散した。

= Karaoke de utai makutte sutoresu wo hassan shita.

= I just keep singing and got rid of stress.

Ex. 彼はずっとしゃべりまくっていた。

= Kare wa zutto shaberimakutte ita.

= He was rambling on and on. / He kept yapping and yapping.

Ex. これは襲ってくる怪物をただただ撃ちまくるゲームだ。

= Kore wa osotte kuru kaibutsu wo tadatada uchimakuru geemu da.

= This is the game which you keep shooting the monsters who attack you. 

Ex. 郵便屋さんがくるとうちの犬は吠えまくる

= Yuubinyasan ga kuru to uchi no inu wa hoemakuru.

= My dog barks a lot whenever a postman comes. 

Ex. 彼は、可愛い女の子に声をかけまくっていた。

= Kare wa, kawaii onnanoko ni koe wo kakemakutte ita.

= He hit on many cute girls.  

Ex. お酒の席で上司を褒めまくる人は苦手だ。

= Osake no seki de joushi wo homemakuru hito wa nigate da.

= I don’t like people who brown-nose their superiors they are out drinking.

Ex. あの店には学生の頃、行きまくった

= Ano mise ni wa gakusei no koro, ikimakutta.

= I used to go to the store/restaurant/bar a lot when I was a student.

Ex. 風が吹きまくっている。

= Kaze ga fukimakutte iru.

= The wind is blowing hard.

Colloquial  usage: 

Just to emphasize the action or state, you attach まくる ( = makuru) to a slang verb.

Ex. マギーは大きい犬を見るとビビリまくっていた。

= Maggie wa ookii inu wo miru to bibirimakutte ita.

= Maggie was totally freaking out when she saw a big dog.

Note: 

verb ビビる= bibiru = to freak out (slang) 

(noun ビビり = bibiri = a coward, chicken)

Ex. 彼は高校時代、女の子にモテまくっていた。

= Kare wa koukou jidai, onna no ko ni motemakutte ita.

= He used be very popular among girls when he was a high school student.

Ex. 写真がブレまくった

= Shashin ga buremakutta.

= The photo is really out of focus. 

Noun form 

You can make a noun with まくり (= makuri)

🔸 How to form:

verb masu stem + まくり ( = makuri)

Ex. 買いまくり= kaimakuri = shopping spree

Ex. 飲みまくり= nomimakuri = drinking binge

Ex. 日曜日は親がいなかったからゲームしまくりだった。

= Nichiyoubi wa oyaga inakatta kara geemu shimakuri datta.

= Since my parents were away, I played a lot of games on Sunday.

Ex. 飲みまくりの週末だった。

= Nomimakuri no shuumatsu datta.

= I spent the weekend just drinking and drinking.

***

マギー先生より = Maggie Sensei yori = From Maggie Sensei

Sano先生、Suzu先生、ありがとう!

= Sano Sensei, Suzu Sensei, arigaatou!

= Thank you, Sano-Sensei & Suzu-Sensei.

このサイトで日本語を勉強しまくっている人いるかな?

= Kono saito de nihongo wo benkyou shimakutte iru hito iru kana?

= I wonder if there are people who study Japanese crazy using this site.

****

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 :rrrr: Audio File for this lesson.

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14 Comments

  1. Hi Maggie-sensei, would like to ask does the きて in this sentence 急に、彼女が昨日はどこに行ったか聞いてきて、焦りまくった。means the physical motion come? because the english translation is My girlfriend asked instead of My girlfriend came and asked.

    1. Hi changkh

      Ahhh good question. I made a lesson on てくる/ていく but I guess I didn’t cover the usage. I should add one.
      てくる/てきた is not always someone/something comes to you.
      When their actions (coming towards you and ) affects you, you use てくる

      1) Someoneが、〜か聞いてきた  Someone asked me if ~
      2) Someoneが、〜と言ってきた。 Someone said to me ~
      3) Someoneが、怒ってきた。Some got mad at me.

      So if you just say 聞いた/言った/怒った it is a factual thing. But by using てくる/てきた, you can tell the speaker/write is affected by their actions.

  2. このサイトで日本語を勉強しまくっているジョルが来ました!
    まあ、「来ました」と言っても大分前から来てたんですけどね。(笑)
    相変わらずマギー先生は素晴らしい先生ですね。いつか会ってみたいです!

    1. 序琉!
      このサイトで勉強しまくってくれているの? うれしいなあ💕
      これからもずっと遊びに来てね。よろしくね! 🐶💕

  3. Hi Maggie! Thanks for all your fantastic lessons! I have a question about まくる。 Can I use it in a negative sense such as like this: 働きまくらないで?

    I think I’d like to say something like this to my workmates: “Don’t work TOO hard”. I usually said 頑張りすぎしないで but まくる seems like fun vocabulary to use here :) Is it appropriate?

    Thanks again!

    1. Hi Dave,
      Good question. Someone asked me the difference between まくる and すぎる but you use すぎる for to do something too much/overdo something
      “Don’t work TOO hard”. will be 働きすぎないで

  4. In a recondite point of the Mexican southwest there is child (me) who wants to thank you for such fascinating lessons, I love them! I’ve learned a lot and I’ll keep on doing it. I appreciate it a lot ¡Saluditos!

  5. Thank you for all your lessons! They’re very informative and I can learn a lot from all the examples.

    I have a question: is there a difference between V+まくる and V+ちぎる? If so, what’s the difference?

    1. Hi J!

      V+ ちぎる? It is different from まくる

      1)ちぎる means to tear off

      Ex. 食いちぎる = to bite off

      2) ちぎる also emphasizes the verb which comes before but it’s very limited.

      Ex. 褒めちぎる = ほめちぎる = to praise someone a lot.

    1. Interesting… Two other people asked me the same question.
      I will repost my answer here.

      Verb+ すぎる ( = sugiru) means “to do something too much”
      Verb + まくる ( = makuru) doesn’t mean “too much /excessibly” and it just focus on the amount, intensity or repetitive actions.

      Ex. 食べすぎる = tabesugiru = to eat too much
      Ex. 食べまくる = tabemakuru = to eat a lot / to eat and eat / keep eating. 😊

      Also, while you use adjetives with すぎる (Ex. 大きすぎる = ooki sugiru), you don’t use adjetives with まくる ( = makuru)

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