延々(えんえん)

えんえん

adverb, taru-adjective

endlessly; on and on; interminably

1. endlessly; on and on; interminably

Describes something continuing for an extremely long time without end. Often implies tedium or exhaustion.

会議(かいぎ)が延々(えんえん)と続(つづ)いた。

The meeting went on endlessly.

彼(かれ)は延々(えんえん)と愚痴(ぐち)を言(い)い続(つづ)けた。

He kept complaining on and on.

延々(えんえん)と続(つづ)く道(みち)を歩(ある)いた。

I walked along the seemingly endless road.

延々(えんえん) emphasizes excessive length or duration, often with a negative connotation of tedium or exhaustion. It can describe both time (a meeting dragging on) and physical extent (a road stretching on forever).

GRAMMAR:
As a taru-adjective, it takes と when used adverbially (延々(えんえん)と) and たる when modifying a noun (延々(えんえん)たる). The と form is far more common in modern usage.

COMMON PATTERNS:

延々(えんえん)と続(つづ)く: to continue endlessly
延々(えんえん)と話(はな)す: to talk on and on
延々(えんえん)と歩(ある)く: to walk on and on
延々(えんえん)○時間(じかん): for a full ○ hours (emphasizing length)

SIMILAR WORDS:

永遠(えいえん)に: eternally (neutral or positive, often about love or ideals)
だらだら: dragging on lazily (more casual, implies lack of focus)
いつまでも: forever, indefinitely (neutral)

general

Added 2026.1.16 23:51 · Revised 2026.6.9 5:05

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