もがく
もがく · mogaku · JLPT N1 · verb-godan
to struggle
🌿 藻掻く = seaweed + scratch: thrashing like a swimmer tangled in seaweed
The kanji are 藻 (seaweed) and 掻く (to paw or scratch at). Struggling means wriggling to pull free of weeds, and the same wriggling sense covers impatient fidgeting.