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In a novel I was reading I found this passage

右腕を抱き、ため息に体をしぼませた。

The context is not that complicate, as the character arrives in a new home and it's tired so he does this.

What I'm confused, is what to make of the に here? I understand 体をしぼませた。 is "My body deflates/sags" but how is the sentence interacting with ため息?

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  • Not め息 but ため息.
    – Karl Knechtel
    Commented yesterday

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If I'm not mistaken, this is just the sentence structure "Agent に subject を passive verb". For example, "弟にケーキを食べられた" (The cake was eaten by my little brother).

In your case, I'd say that "ため息に体をしぼませた" basically means "his body deflated due to a sigh", or more naturally, "his body deflated with a sigh".

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  • しぼませる is not a passive form.
    – naruto
    Commented yesterday
  • @naruto you're right. I think I meant "transitive form", not passive.
    – chausies
    Commented yesterday
  • @chausies the most common term is "causative" I think.
    – Kisaragi Ayami
    Commented yesterday

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