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Word 3354 of 4449

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粘る

ねばる

to be sticky; to be adhesive; to hang on; to persevere; to stick at it

By Nihongo PathUpdated

Examples

  1. このお米はよく粘る。

    このおこめはよくねばる。

    This rice is nice and sticky.

  2. 最後まで粘って、ついに逆転した。

    さいごまでねばって、ついにぎゃくてんした。

    They hung on to the end and finally turned the game around.

  3. 客は値段を下げてほしいと、店先でいつまでも粘っていた。

    きゃくはねだんをさげてほしいと、みせさきでいつまでもねばっていた。

    The customer kept hanging around the shopfront, pressing for a lower price.

Common patterns

最後まで粘る
to hang on to the end
粘り強い
tenacious; persistent
交渉で粘る
to hold out in negotiations

Memory tip

Literally "be sticky", figuratively "refuse to budge" — hanging on in a match, holding out in a negotiation, or nursing one coffee in a café for hours. The compliment form is 粘り強い.

Kanji in this word

Quick check

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What does 粘る mean?