抱きしめる

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: It is read だきしめる. The embracing sense of 抱く combines with holding closely to express wrapping one's arms firmly around someone.
• Basic usage: It describes tightly hugging a friend at a reunion or tenderly embracing a crying child.
  • 再会した友人を思わず抱きしめた。

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Holding in one's arms versus a close embrace
  • 抱く broadly describes holding someone in one's arms, while 抱きしめる emphasizes drawing them close in an embrace.