つまずく
つまずく
verb (godan, intransitive)
to stumble; to trip
See also:
蹴躓く (emphatic variant: to trip badly)
Conjugation
| Affirmative | Negative | |
|---|---|---|
| Present | つまずく | つまずかない |
| Present polite | つまずきます | つまずきません |
| Past | つまずいた | つまずかなかった |
| Past polite | つまずきました | つまずきませんでした |
| て form | つまずいて | つまずかなくて |
| ている present | つまずいている | つまずいていない |
| ている polite | つまずいています | つまずいていません |
| ている past | つまずいていた | つまずいていなかった |
| ている past polite | つまずいていました | つまずいていませんでした |
| Conditional ば | つまずけば | つまずかなければ |
| Conditional たら | つまずいたら | つまずかなかったら |
| Volitional | つまずこう | — |
| Volitional polite | つまずきましょう | — |
| Potential | つまずける | つまずけない |
| Passive | つまずかれる | つまずかれない |
| Causative | つまずかせる | つまずかせない |
| Imperative | つまずけ | つまずくな |
1.
to stumble; to trip
To catch one's foot on something and lose balance while walking or running. The obstacle causes an unintended forward motion that may or may not result in a fall.
2.
to encounter an obstacle; to hit a snag
Figuratively, to encounter an unexpected problem or difficulty that hinders progress in work, life, or a project.
Particle: the thing you trip over takes に, not を — 石につまずく. In the figurative sense the same に marks the subject or stage that defeated you (数学につまずく), while で marks the cause or the point at which things went wrong.
Writing
Can be written 躓く, but that kanji is outside the standard list and hiragana is much more common in everyday writing.
What IT does and DOESN'T mean
つまずく is only the catching of the foot and the loss of balance. Whether you actually go down is a separate verb, which is why 転ぶ is so often added after it, as in example 1.
Usage
The physical meaning (sense 1) belongs to everyday conversation; the figurative meaning (sense 2) is frequent in news and business writing about projects, negotiations, and studies that ran into trouble early.