ばらばら

ばらばら
adverb
scattered; in pieces; disjointed
1. scattered; in pieces
Describes things that are separated, scattered, or not together.
書類(しょるい)がばらばらになっている。
The documents are scattered.
家族(かぞく)はばらばらに住(す)んでいる。
The family members live separately.
地震(じしん)で本棚(ほんだな)の本(ほん)がばらばらに落(お)ちた。
The books fell off the bookshelf and scattered in the earthquake.
2. varied; inconsistent
Describes opinions, times, or qualities that differ from each other.
意見(いけん)がばらばらで決(き)まらない。
We can't decide because opinions vary so much.
集合(しゅうごう)時間(じかん)がばらばらで困(こま)る。
The meeting times are all different, which is a problem.
テストの点数(てんすう)はばらばらで、高(たか)い人(ひと)もいれば低(ひく)い人(ひと)もいた。
The test scores were all over the place — some people scored high, others low.

ばらばら is a mimetic word (擬態語(ぎたいご)) describing things that are scattered, separated, or inconsistent.

SENSE 1 — PHYSICALLY SCATTERED:

  • ばらばらになる: to fall apart, to scatter
  • ばらばらに落(お)ちる: to fall scattered
  • 書類(しょるい)がばらばら: documents are scattered

SENSE 2 — INCONSISTENT/VARIED:

  • 意見(いけん)がばらばら: opinions differ widely
  • 時間(じかん)がばらばら: times are all different
  • 成績(せいせき)がばらばら: grades are uneven

COMMON PATTERNS:

  • ばらばらになる: to become scattered/separated
  • ばらばらに住(す)む: to live separately (family members in different places)
  • ばらばらにする: to take apart, to separate

SIMILAR WORDS:

  • めちゃくちゃ: messed up, chaotic (stronger)
  • ぐちゃぐちゃ: jumbled, mixed up (messy)
  • てんでんばらばら: each going their own way

Related Words

Related: めちゃくちゃ (chaotic, messed up)
Related: ぐちゃぐちゃ (jumbled, messy)
general
Added 2026.1.16 12:17 · Revised 2026.4.13 17:54
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