点々(てんてん)

てんてん
adverb
here and there; dotted about
1. here and there; scattered; dotted about
Describing things scattered in dots across a space.
野原(のはら)に花(はな)が点々(てんてん)と咲(さ)いている。
Flowers are blooming here and there across the field.
Scattered distribution
血痕(けっこん)が点々(てんてん)と続(つづ)いていた。
Blood traces were dotted along the path.
Sequential scattered pattern
島(しま)が点々(てんてん)と浮(う)かんでいる。
Islands are scattered about (on the sea).
Describing archipelago

点々(てんてん) is a reduplication of 点(てん) (point; dot), describing things distributed in a scattered, dot-like pattern.

USAGE:

  • 点々(てんてん)と + verb (in a scattered manner)
  • 点々(てんてん)と続(つづ)く (dotted continuously)

VISUAL IMAGE:
This word evokes a visual of dots scattered across a surface, like stars in the sky, islands in the sea, or flowers in a meadow.

HOMOPHONE:
転々(てんてん) - has the same reading but different meaning (moving from place to place). See separate entry.

SIMILAR EXPRESSIONS:

  • ぽつぽつ (sparsely; little by little)
  • まばらに (sparsely; scattered)

Related Words

Contrast: 転々(てんてん) (homophone: from place to place)
general
Added 2026.1.13 16:20 · Revised 2026.1.19 21:17
03500/03974_tenten