だらだら
だらだら
adverb, verb (suru)
sluggishly, lazily, dripping
1.
sluggishly, lazily
Acting or doing something slowly and without energy or motivation. Often implies wasting time.
休日はだらだら過ごしてしまった。
I ended up spending my day off lazing around.
会議がだらだらと長引いた。
The meeting dragged on endlessly.
2.
dripping, trickling
Liquid flowing continuously in a slow stream.
汗がだらだらと流れた。
Sweat was dripping down.
だらだら is an onomatopoeic word with two main uses. The more common sense describes lazy, aimless, or drawn-out behavior, often with a negative connotation of wasting time. The second sense describes liquid dripping or trickling slowly and continuously.
COMMON PATTERNS (sense 1 — lazily):
- だらだら過ごす: to spend time lazily
- だらだらと長引く: to drag on
- だらだらする: to laze around, to be idle
- だらだら続く: to go on and on without purpose
COMMON PATTERNS (sense 2 — dripping):
- 汗がだらだら流れる: sweat dripping down
- 血がだらだら出る: blood trickling continuously
CONTRAST:
- きびきび: briskly, energetically (opposite of sense 1)
- てきぱき: efficiently, promptly (opposite of sense 1)
- ぽたぽた: drip-drip (drops falling one by one, vs. だらだら's continuous flow)
Related Words
Antonym:
きびきび (energetically)