Skip to content
道Nihongo Path

Word 1803 of 4449

Save Sign in to track

とぼとぼ

trudging, plodding

By Nihongo PathUpdated

Examples

  1. とぼとぼと家に帰った。

    とぼとぼといえにかえった。

    I trudged home.

  2. 老人が一人、とぼとぼ歩いていく。

    ろうじんがひとり、とぼとぼあるいていく。

    An old man plods along alone.

  3. 試合に負け、選手たちはとぼとぼと引き上げた。

    しあいにまけ、せんしゅたちはとぼとぼとひきあげた。

    Having lost the match, the players trudged off.

Common patterns

とぼとぼ歩く
to trudge along
とぼとぼと帰る
to plod home
とぼとぼ去る
to shuffle away

Memory tip

It describes walking and only walking, and the walk itself shows the mood: slow, heavy and lonely. If the person is slinking off after a defeat, すごすご is the close cousin.

Quick check

1 / 1Multiple choiceDifficulty 4 of 5

What does とぼとぼ mean?