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Word 2737 of 4449

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ぼつぼつ

gradually; little by little; soon; here and there; small spots or pimples

By Nihongo PathUpdated

Examples

  1. ぼつぼつ帰りましょうか。

    ぼつぼつかえりましょうか。

    Shall we start heading home?

  2. 客がぼつぼつ集まり始めた。

    きゃくがぼつぼつあつまりはじめた。

    The guests began to gather a few at a time.

  3. 腕にぼつぼつができて、かゆくてたまらない。

    うでにぼつぼつができて、かゆくてたまらない。

    Little spots have come up on my arm and the itching is unbearable.

Common patterns

ぼつぼつ始める
to get started bit by bit
ぼつぼつ出かける
to set off soon
ぼつぼつができる
for spots to break out

Memory tip

Two senses from one image of scattered dots: dots in time (things happening gradually, or "about time to ...") and dots on a surface (a rash). ぼちぼち is the softer, more common Kansai-flavoured variant of the first sense.

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What does ぼつぼつ mean?