縮む

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 縮む, read ちぢむ, joins the shrinking or contracting stem 縮 with the verb ending む.
• Basic usage: It describes size, length, or volume becoming smaller, as in 服が縮む.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Grammar and combinations
  • It is intransitive, with the changing item taking が; the transitive verb for making something smaller is 縮める.